The Love That was Never Meant to Be
by Txcutee
Summary: "It's come down to them. Now is the time to fight to the death. Yet they just stand in front of each other, neither moving. The end of the Games is near." What if Cato left the careers for Katniss? What were his reasons? Will he kill her or will love sprout? (I'm bad at summaries it's better inside, PLEASE READ!)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own the ****_Hunger Games_**

* * *

**Prologue**

It's come down to them. Now is the time to fight to the death. But they just stand in front of each other, neither one moving.

They stand gazing into the eyes of the person they have secretly grown to adore.

Is it wrong to like a boy who has been trained to like killing other children? A brutal, bloody, killing-machine?

Is it wrong to have possible love for a girl from District 12. A girl who outnumbered him in training, stole his sponsors, and stands in his way of winning this? A girl he once hated because of her being a better person mentally?

The wolf like mutts, around the Cornucopia, are starting to get impatient and howl in blood lust. Cato and Katniss are to lost in the others to notice.

He steps forward, raising his arms. Her eyes go wide in surprise and fury, pulling back a arrow in response

The end of the Hunger Games is near.

**Chapter****1**

Katniss is startled awake by Prim's agonizing screams.

She shakes her little sister's shoulder, and she's immediately conscience. She stares at her older sister with big, frightened eyes, her bottom lip trembling.

Katniss opens her arms, and Prim instantly slides into them. She snuggles her head into the nape of her neck.

Katniss strokes her hair softly, whispering soothing words of comfort till her sobs calms down some.

"Now what was your dream about?" Katniss asks. This brings more tears from her little sister. She shushes her. "Hey it's okay It was just a dream. No more tears." she says, pulling back to look into her tearful blue eyes.

Prim, being the strong girl she is, holds back the rest of her tears.

"There, see not so hard.' Katniss says with a small smile. "Now, tell me what your dream was about."

"She picked me," her voice cracking. "She picked me, Katniss!" Once again, tears threatens to spill out.

"Hey don't cry." She says taking her face in her scared hands. "Your name's only been in there once. Their not going to pick you." The determination in her voice lets Prim relax. "Now try and get some sleep."

She lays down, and Katniss tucks her in. "Will you sing?" She gives her older sister her Bambi eyes, that she can never resist. She strokes her hair and softly sings, with her beautiful voice.

"_This is your lullaby, lullaby, lullaby_

_Darling, close your eyes, close your eyes,_

_close your eyes_

_There's nothing much to say,_

_because everything's okay_

_So this your lullaby, lullaby, lullaby_

_Darling, close your eyes, close your eyes,_

_close your eyes_

_The sky is dark_

_The moon is high_

_The birds are sleeping, so I guess I_

_Will have to sing your lullaby_

_Darling, close your eyes, close your eyes,_

_close your eyes_

_Fall asleep and dream_

_everything's as good as it seems_

_This is your lullaby, lullaby, lullaby_

_Darling sleep tonight, sleep tonight, sleep tonight"_

Prim's eyelids grow heavy, and she slowly looses consciousness.

_"I'm right here with you_

_All the bad dreams, yeah they flew_

_Away with this lullaby, lullaby, lullaby_

_Darling, sleep tonight, sleep tonight, sleep tonight."_

Katniss plants a soft kiss on Prim's forehead. She looks out the small bedroom window, it must be two-three in the morning.

she lays down figuring she can can get a few more hours of sleep.

* * *

Katniss feels a dull pain in her arm, but almost instantly, the pain intensifies. She gasps, eyes snapping open. She sits up, instantaneously examining her arm. Cat bite! Eyes still bleary, she blinks, looking around for the offending cat. It's cuddled at her feet atop the covers on her bed, innocently looking at her with curious eyes.

"Look at what you did!" Katniss whisper shouts at the cat, shoving her injured arm in the feline's face. The cat growls, and Katniss quickly withdrawing her arm, stumbling out of bed and to the bathroom to get a ban-aid, cursing under her breathe.

Her desire to kill the ugly yellow fur ball increasing by 200%.

When she has the ban-aid all situated, she pulls on some jeans and a green long-sleeve shirt. She lases up her boots, and heads out of the bathroom, through the bedroom, and into the living room/kitchen.

She finds some of Lady's cheese, a gift from Prim for this "_special"_ day.

The Reaping.

A sight escapes her throat. It's Prim's first year. She's absolutely terrified, but she'll be fine, there are thousands of slips in that glass bowl.

Katniss puts the cheese in her pocket, and heads for the door. As she's taking off her father's hunting jacket off it's hook, she hears a hissing noise from behind her. She turns around to face what can only be Buttercup.

"I'll still cook you." she says in a emotionless tone, slipping on the jacket.

She opens the front door, stepping out into the muggy, warm August morning air.

The sun momentarily blinds her. When her eyes adjust she see the empty coal dust covered streets. She'll have to be more careful about getting into the woods.

The other families are still asleep, since there is no work school today. They're probably trying to get more sleep, if they've even gotten any.

She made her way through the streets,through the Meadow, and to the edge of the fence. She checks once, twice, thrice, to make sure there is no one watching her. She doesn't see anyone, but she can't help but feel like she's being watched.

She doesn't think much about it and shimmies under the small hole under the fence covered by some bushes.. Scrambling up, from the ground and into the protection of her tree's shady branches.

She pulls out her bow, pulls the sheath over her shoulder, and her knife into her belt.

As soon as she stands up, someone strong, much bigger than her, tackles her to the ground.

She looks up to see a smirking Gale looking down at her.

I think you've got bad eye site, Catnip." he says with a small chuckle. "You looked around three times and still didn't see me. What if I was a peacekeeper that didn't give the blind eye to us?" He shakes his head. "You could've got whipped." He gives a loud, deep you-should-be-so-ashamed sigh. "What am I going to do with you?"

She shakes her head and gives him a playful glare, at his teasing.

With that they stand up and start their hunting routine.

* * *

After finishing their hunting, gathering, and making fun of Effie's annoying Capitol accent, they make their way to the district.

They go back inside the fence and Gale walks Katniss home.

When they're in front of her house Gals says flatly, "wear something pretty." With that he turns on his heel and walks away towards his home, before she can say anything back.

She walks up her highly unstable, worn down porch steps and into her small damaged house.

The tub is waiting is filled with water, waiting for her in the bathroom when she get inside.

She strips down and hops into the ice cold water. She scrubs off the dirt on her body, in her hair, and under her fingernails.

When she's done with her bath she wraps a ragged worn-out towel around her slim figure, and drains the tub.

She walks back to her bedroom and finds that her mother left out one of her old dresses for her to wear today. The dress is periwinkle blue, that comes down to just above her knees. The fabric is a soft soothing silk.

Katniss' examines herself in the long, cracked mirror on the wall in the bedroom, when Prim comes rushing in, but stopping short when she sees he older sister. A smile spreads across her young features and gets wide admiring eyes.

She's wearing Katniss' first Reaping clothes. A plaid skirt and a tucked in white blouse, only now the blouse isn't all that white anymore. She has a tail hanging out in the back. Their mother had tried to safety pin it to her skirt, but it did no good.

"You need to tuck in your tail, little duck." Katniss says tucking the shirt back into her skirt. Prim quacks in response, making Katniss smile one of her rare smiles.

"You look beautiful," says a woman that could only be their mother.

Katniss immediately tenses up, her smile gone in the blink of an eye.

"Here, let me do your hair," her mother says softly, guiding her oldest daughter back to the mirror. She stars braiding her hair (a braid much better looking than the one she wore earlier that day), ignoring the glares Katniss sends at her in the mirror.

When her mother is done braiding her hair, Katniss' grimace is full on, absolutely unrecognizable.

Her mother smiles at her in the mirror while massaging Kaniss' shoulders. Kayniss shakes her off, and walks out of the room.

A small brunch is set up at their kitchen table. There's some tesserae, tasteless, grain bread. Some blackberries with some tea are set out, also.

People tend to eat a big meal after the Reaping, which celebrates another year of surviving the games. But two families will close their shudders tight and begin their mourning.

They eat in silence like always, then quickly wash their plates and head for town square.

There's camera people up on the roofs of the businesses around the towns square, people walk to and check in for the Reaping.

Prim is suddenly paralyzed in fright when she sees the stage and the glass bowls holding names.

Katniss pulls her aside, tells her not to cry, that everything will be all right, and that she wouldn't let anything bad happen to her.

This calms her down some. Katniss embraces her sister in a quick, tight, comforting hug. They let go and Prim hold onto Katniss' hand like it's a lifeline.

When they have to split up to go to their specific age groups, Katniss gives her little duck a reassuring smile.

After about five minutes, the mayor, Mr. Undersee, his wife, Mrs. Undersee, and Effie Trinket, the District 12 escort, all come out on the stage, creating a tension in the air, everyone knowing the names of the kids that will fight to the death will be called soon.

The mayor starts the speech that he says every year, that no one really ever listens to.

While he makes his useless speech, Katniss feels a stare boring into the back of her head. She looks over and sees Gale staring at her. He mouths that it will be okay, but Katniss still worries, he does have forty-two slips with his name on it. He must have gotten this, too, because his face darkens and he turns away.

She turns her attention back to the stage just as Haymitch Abernathy swaggers drunkenly to his seat next to Effie. He whispers something in Effie's ear, making her squeal in disgust. Haymitch laughs hardily and puts his arm around Effie's front to give her a hug. During Effie's attempts to escape, her ugly pink wig turns askew, hanging crookedly on the top of her head. The mayor finishes his dull speech, and goes back to his seat, tapping Effie on her shoulder, wordlessly telling her to go talk now. Haymitch finally gets off her, and Effie stands, smoothing her clothing out. She makes her way to the microphone, oblivious to the way her wig is still set.

"YOU ARE SO UUUUUUUUGLY, EEEEEEEEFFIIIIEEEEEEEEE," sings the drunk Haymitch in the background. "UUUUUUUUUUGGLYYYY AS POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO... IN ALL YOUR MAKEUPPPPP, YOU ARE DEADLY-ETHLY LOOKINGGGGGG, OHHHHHH EFFFFFFFFFFIEEEEEEEEEE..."

Effie, ignoring the slurred singing, gives a forced smile at the camera.

"Happy Hunger Games, and may the the odds be _ever_ in your favor," she says with more of a Capitol accent than Katniss or Gale had ever come close to. "Ladies first," she says, as usual. She walks over to the glass bowl with the girls' names in it (twenty-something of the slips with Katniss' name). She silently prays that Effie doesn't call her name.

"Primrose Everdeen!"

_What? Did she just say Prim's name? No! That's impossible! One slip! One asinine slip out of thousands! How did her name get picked? ONE SLIP!_

All this runs through Katniss' head as Prim cautiously steps forward, and the other twelve-year-olds step aside to make a path.

_NO, YOU IDIOTS! Don't make a path for her, and don't you dare let her go!_

Katniss starts to feel lightheaded.

Prim is about to climb the steps to the stage, he shirt tail hanging out again. Her face is ghostly white.

All this brings Katniss back to reality. She starts to make her way forward, people making a path, just like they did for Prim. She breaks into a run.

Just as Prim was about to put her right foot on the first step to the stage, Katniss screeched, "PRIM!"

Prim whips around at the sound of her older sister's voice. Katniss pulls Prim behind her, and says the words she could never imagine herself saying in her life, "I volunteer!" Her voice is loud and protective. "I volunteer as tribute!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Dead silence.

That is all there is after Katniss' brave act to take her younger sister's place. When she had first said the words, everyone had gasped. But then they seemed to hold their breaths, no one daring enough to make a sound.

Prim is the first to break the silence, not willing to let her sister go. She wraps her fragile, little arms around her sister's waist and screams over and over that she can't go and that it was her that was called.

Katniss stands statue still, only vaguely aware of her sister's actions. Her eyes are fixed on the woman who called the only person she loved to go into those horrid games.

Prim's arms are soon taken away from around her slim figure. As they disappear Prim's nails dig into her sides, trying to cling to her, most leaving dark red lines across the lower half of her upper body.

To see where her sister went, Katniss turns around, her eyes falling the boy she had been with this exact morning. He had Prim thrown over his shoulder.

_Was that really this morning?_

That moment they had spent together seemed like a lifetime ago. A life time away from all the starving people of the Seam and it's trashy area. A lifetime that's calm and without a worry. A lifetime where it was only the two of them doing the thing they love to do - hunt.

"Up you go, Catnip," he says. She nods, turning her expression back into her stony one. Slowly facing back towards the stage, she makes her way up the steps. Three steps across the the stage, Effie comes over and places a hurrying hand on the small of her back. It takes all Katniss' self control not to cringe away from the unwelcome and delicately evasive touch.

They come to a stop in front of the microphone.

"Well what's your name, dear?"

"Katniss Everdeen."

"I bet my buttons that was your sister?" She doesn't say anything just stares at the woods where everything was perfect. He second home.

"Well, well, well... Let's give a nice, warm round of applause for our first District 12 volunteer!" The feigned enthusiasm is sickening. She begins to clap but stops abruptly after she realizes that no one else is following suit. Instead, almost simultaneously, as if it is rehearsed, the people of the crowd each lift three fingers to their lips, then raise them in honored farewell to Katniss.

Katniss' stony face falters. She is in great danger of crying in front of the entire country. Which would be very bad for her reputation. For one, she had not cried since her father's death when she was eleven. So many times over the last few years, bad things had happened and she had held her head high and willed herself not to cry. After everything she had been through she refused to cry at a time like this. And for another she would be considered weak and wouldn't get many sponsors later on. If she will even get any sponsors.

She is saved when her soon-to-be mentor wraps a surprisingly strong arm around her shoulder. She stumbles a little from the stench of alcohol radiating off his breath, but his grip keeps her standing up right.

"I like this one," he slurs, his breath brushing across her face and she scrunches her nose up in disgust. "Got lots of...spunk." He begins to laugh as if there was something actually funny. He lets go of her shoulders and leans over, hands on his knees. He begins to laugh harder and harder to where he's swaying, even though he already was from the alcohol. He point a shaky finger at the camera before falling off the stage and onto the ground unconscious, in a heap of limbs.

While the camera is still trained on the drunkard that lays before her, Katniss is able to regain her emotionless face without the whole country seeing her change in emotions and letting them know what she was feeling at that moment. The cameras turn their attention back towards the stage once Effie announces that it is time for the 'lucky' boy tribute to be chosen.

Effie walks over to the bowl full of boys' names, her heels clacking loudly all the way. She sticks her long nimble fingers into the bowl and digs around for a random slip. After a few long, heart-stopping moments she pulls out the slip thought holds the boy tribute for District 12 of the 74th Hunger Games. The name that Katniss will train and compete with.

"Peeta Mellark," she says, giving a all-too-big smile at the end.

Peeta makes his way through the crowd towards the stage, his face pale white. His teeth sink into his bottom lip and his eyes well up with big, fat tears that he refuses to release down his cheeks. His eyes stay trained on the ground, making sure to not make a fool of himself by either tripping or showing his all-too-noticeable tears.

When he's up the last step of the stage, he takes even smaller step then he did to get to the stage. Slowly he makes his way to his spot next to Katniss. Effie smiles, but it's forced. Her eyes clearly show that she is irritated.

The mayor makes yet another speech to which no one pays attention. When he's done, the District 12 tributes shake one another's hands, locking eyes for a moment before they are whisked off into the Justice Building.

* * *

Cato Cross. This year's 74th Annual Hunger Games District 2 tribute The next to bring honor and glory to the district and his family. Be known around the country of Panem. Be among the best of the best.

Cato practically jumps out of his slightly messy, king-size double-bed, ready to take on the day he's been waiting for since he was able to hold a sword.

The reaping isn't until two - five hours from now. Though that doesn't mean anything of course, so he hurriedly get ready for this exciting day. Halfway through putting on his black slacks he has a different desire. He changes into sweat pants and leaves and a plain white t-shirt.

He jogs down the stairs and out the front door, into the cool, foggy, still-somewhat-dark morning. He runs down many streets till his breaths become ragged and sweat covers his body. He takes off his shirt and drapes it around his shoulders. The morning sun has become brighter, but still the sky is hazy. Deciding that this will probably be the last time he'll he this place in a couple of months, walks back the five miles he just ran and just enjoys this last morning here as a non-victor.

Opening the front door of his ginormous house, his nose is filled with smell of bacon, eggs, pancakes, muffins, and fruit. He closes his eyes and takes in the sent of his his favorite breakfast foods.

One of his avoxes comes up to him, handing him a small towel. Drying himself as he walks to the kitchen. His stomach rumbles from all the delicious smells. Wrapping the towel around his bare shoulders, he walks over to the dinning table where his family already sits. His father and mother sit at opposite end of the table that seats about twenty people. His half-brother, Kayleb, sits across from him in the middle of the long table. Like most meals, the table is only filled with the sound of the scrapping of forks and knifes instead of talking. His mother looks uncomfortable and want to blurt something out, but she just stuffs her face so nothing comes out.

When Cato is finished with his breakfast, he gets up out of his seat, not bothering to excuse himself, and no one at the table call him back.

In his bathroom he turns on the water to one of its colder settings. Waiting for it to cool off he turns away and looks away. He gaze turns towards the mirror and he stares at the face of a champion. He scowls at himself like he does every morning since he found out he would be the tribute of this years Hunger Games, making sure he has the right face down. The faces of determination. The face of a born-to-be winner. A smile slowly creeps upon his face at the pure memory of the pleasure of hold a sword and slashing through many dummies. At how after all these years, he was finally chosen for this. That at of all the boys training to be in the games, he was the best.

The cold, refreshing water leaves Cato's mind more relaxed and ready to take on what the day has to bring. Which shall be good-for him at least. Looking at his alarm clock he sees that there is still two and a half hours till his big moment he's been waiting for his whole life. Two hours may seem like it's a long time, but glory and honor never come quickly.

After getting dressed and with nothing left to do that's worth his time, he flops down on the bed and sleeps to pass the rest of the time. Rest always does people wonders.

About a half hour before two, Kayleb walks in, not bothering to knock, and yells, "Cato, it's time to go down the the square for the reaping. Mom wants you downstairs right now." Moaning loudly, Cato grudgingly opens his eyes. His brother turns to leave but stops just as he's about to shut the door. "By the way, you might want to wear something more than a towel."

Cato sits up and sure enough he was covered only by the damp towel he used this morning to dry himself off after his shower. He runs a hand down his face, groaning softly to himself. Quickly, he's off the bed and in his best clothes. Running a comb one more time through his slick, blonde hair, he goes downstairs.

His mother runs up and begins brushing thing off this shirt that are so small you would need a microscope just to see them. When she's finished with that she reaches up and "fixes" his hair. Cato grabs her hands and pulls them away from his hair.

"Mom," he says with a serious tone. "My hair is fine."

"You're right," she sighs, getting off her tiptoes. "But I'm just making sure you get enough sponsors."

"You don't think I'll get enough sponsors," he asks, his voice raising with every word. "Do you not have enough faith in me to win these damned games?" His mother backs away from her now yelling son. "I've been training for this since I was six! I've been training for twelve years,mom!"

"I know, son. I-I just want you to have a better chance at winning this." Tear form in her troubled eyes.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just a bit anxious about all of this." At this his mother breaks-down crying. Cato wraps her in a tight hug. "I'll come home, mom. I promise." They stand there for a few more minutes before Kayleb's voice breaks their silence, telling them to hurry up.

* * *

Cato stands in his spot between all the other eighteen year-old boys. His with nothing to do, his hands begin to fidget as he scowls at the people around him. In return some of them cower away in fear while others glare right back.

The District 2 escort comes up to the microphone and begins his speech full of shit that he says every year. Cato's mind wanders off, thinking about what it would be like to watch the reaping from up on the stage in front of him.

"Time for the girls," booms the voice of Distric 2's escort, Clide Sherlop. What that kind of name is that he does not know. Come on; Sherlop? How do Capitolites live with themselves knowing that they gave their child that idiotic name. He wouldn't be surprised if he got beat up when he was a kid. Then again he's sure just about everyone would be with horrifying names like theirs. Their minds must be more messed up than he thought. This'll be a piece of cake.

Mmmmm...cake. His stomach rumbles at the thought of chocolate cake with creamy, chocolate icing on his tongue with that wonderful, sweet taste that he can never seem to get enough of.

Focus, Cato. Focus, he commands himself.

On the stage, Clide holds up the slip that holds some girl's name.

"Melanie Kyrsto," he says with a smile way too big for his face. Come on people, calm down. No need to be that damn happy; you're an escort, it's not like your job is that important. You don't really do anything.

From across a square a small, scrawny girl with long, straight, brown hair slowly creep forward, her face pale and anxious for someone to volunteer for her. Another girl also with long, brown hair steps up and volunteers Cato can't hear but he's sure she let go of a sigh of relief. She gives a small thankful smile to the girl who just saved her life, but the other girl just ignores her. Instead she glares and walks confidently up the stage, smirking at the cameras as she goes past them.

The scrawny, little thing goes back to her place with all the other fourteen year-old girls, looking down at the ground, her hair covering parts of her reddened face.

Giving one more ridiculous smile to the cameras, Clide goes and plucks out a boys name from the bowl, though it won't matter who's it is, Cato's going to volunteer and he's going to win it. He might as well just yell out the words "I volunteer" right now, before he even says the name of that unfortunate sole who won't be going.

"Kyle Grost," Clide says, but his words are incoherent to Cato. Without waiting for Kyle to move from his spot and to the stage, Cato leaps forward and yells the words he's been waiting to say for years;

"I volunteer."

* * *

Sitting on the couch in front of the T.V., he waits for the recaps of the reapings to begin. The announcers are talking nonstop about past games/victors, but Cato ignores them. Instead he stays focused on other things. He remembers everything that he's learned since he started training, he wonders what the arena will be, who he will be up against (though it won't really matter who really is in the games with him since he's going to win no matter what, but he still has to wonder so he doesn't get too over confident).

Finally the recaps begin, sending Brutus and Enbrodia - who were arguing or who knows what - into a odd silence.

In District 1, both tributes volunteer. A slim, sexy girl with beautiful gold curls and green eyes. The boy, tall, with wavy brown hair an blue eyes. Though the girl comes off flirty and absent-minded, Cato knows knows there must have a reason to be volunteering. The boy, without a doubt in his mind, is strong built and could do some damage with what he doesn't know, but soon he'll find out. Them being from District 1 and all, are going to be his and Cloves' allies.

District 3 is nothing special. As far as he can tell, they were scared as hell, and nothing they could do would help them in the slightest in the games. Though they could always be mistaken, he doubted it.

District 4 didn't leave its mark either. Even though they're careers, they didn't seem to thrilled to be going in. The girl might have some talent, but the boy is most defiantly a bloodbath. Either way they were going to be his allies - if they make it through the bloodbath anyway.

From District 5, the girl has something about her that put him on edge. Something about the way she moved to the stage. It was graceful and stealthy, even though she was out in the open. Or maybe it was the look in her eyes that makes Cato think twice about her, or maybe it's just her fox-like features that makes him uneasy. She is most defiantly one to watch before the games.

Her partner was nothing special , nor was any of the others through ten. Though he feels a tad bit of pity for the boy from ten who had an nonworking leg, he pushes it aside, knowing there is no room for pity.

In District 11, a little girl who looked around the age of twelve is reaped. No one volunteers for her. Even though he knows that she's from a outside district and outside districts don't volunteer, he thought that maybe there might be someone who would pity her enough to volunteer.

Her partner makes him sit up straighter. The boy is tall and well-muscled. It looks as if he could just tap the little girl beside him on the head and she would fall to pieces. Cato wonders if he would get agree to be his ally, but thought better of it. The boy's from the outside and he's a career; trust will not go over well. He'd most likely slit their throats in their sleep. He also is defiantly someone to watch to see what he could do along with the other people who stood out to him. He most defiantly is at the top of his list to watch out for.

When they move on to District 12, Cato sits back a little into the comfort of the couch, relaxing just a tad, not really worrying about who is reaped like in the districts 3, 5-11. Excluding the girl from 5 and the boy from 11.

The escort for their district goes up to the microphone with the first name.

"Primrose Everdeen," she says like the rest of the capitolites would.

The camera goes to a small, fragile looking girl. She also, like the girl from 11, looks about twelve. Her hair is pulled back into two braids and her face is a ghostly white. Cautiously she steps forward down the path the other twelve year-old girls have made for her.

The camera goes to another girl with midnight black hair that is pulled back into a series of braids, looking oddly similar to the girl just reaped. But maybe that was just because her face was also very pale.

She pushes her way through the crowd, her face full of panic. She pulls the girl behind her before she is able to go up onto the stage and says the words that he said only a short while ago.

"I volunteer." The blonde hugs her from behind and holds on like she's her lifeline. She screams many pointless things, tears streaming down her face freely. The older girl stands still, oblivious to the screaming child behind her.

A boy, older than both, with the same hair and olive skin as the older girl, comes up and takes the crying girl off the older one. The boy looks almost the same as the older girl, and Cato wonders if they're related - not that it really matters. He mumbles something to her and she nods, turning back and going onto the stage.

On stage the pink-haired lady asks for the name of the new girl tribute for the district.

"Katniss Everdeen," she mumbles.

_Katniss._

"Well I bet my buttons that was your sister?" Katniss doesn't answer, just looks of into the distance beyond the square where the reaping is taking place. Her face is as emotionless as a brick wall, which only frustrates Cato, not being to read her.

"Well, well, well... Let's give a nice, warm round of applause for our first District 12 volunteer!" She begins to clap loudly. The crowd is silent, and when she noticed this she stops suddenly. Instead of clapping they press three fingers to their lips and raising them to Katniss in one swift motion, as if it was rehearsed.

The rest of District 12's reaping goes on, but Cato doesn't really pay attention. Her partner is strong-built, but Cato doesn't think he has much of a chance in the arena.

He lies awake in bed that night, replaying Katniss' words over and over in his mind.

_I volunteer._

She was not to be ignored. She was no wimp like the rest of her district. She must of thought she had a chance if she volunteered for her sister like that.

_Katniss._

Her name would not be forgotten, for she was not to be forgotten. That, he's sure of.

* * *

**Sorry I didn't update faster, it just takes longer for me to write for this.**

**Send in your thoughs, ideas, or anything you want me to know. I would love to hear from all.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**~Txcutte**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

She sits in the chair facing towards the mirror, looking at the changes her prep team has done to her. She had gone through countless hours in the remake center being scrubbed down her slim figure with a gritty foam that has removed not only the dirt that has been collected on her skin for years from hunting, but also at least three layers of skin, turning her nails into perfect, uniform shapes, and primarily, ridding her body of hair, leaving her feeling like a plucked bird. She hates it, and that may even be an understatement. Her skin is sore and tingly, and left feeling intensely vulnerable. But even through all the pain she has endured the last couple of hours, she listened to Haymitch's advise about not objecting to anything her prep team said or did.

They put this lotion, the color of a pea, across her leg, stinging a little, but then soothes her raw skin. Lastly, they plucked any hair that the tape hadn't picked up with some tweezers.

When they were done, they left the room to fetch her stylist, Cinna. Katniss doesn't know exactly what she was expecting her stylist to look, but whatever it was, she had not imagined this. She had seen many crazy styles here in the Capitol, but he looks almost normal, like an actual human being. Her stylist has short hair, that just happens to be a natural shade. He's in simple black shirt and pants. The only thing that gives him away as part of the Capitol is his metallic gold eyeliner.

"Hello, Katniss. I'm Cinna, your stylist," he says in a quiet voice somewhat lacking the accent everyone seems to have here. If she saw him in a different place other than the Capitol, she might mistake him as part of the District.

"Hello," she says slowly, still taking in his features.

"Just give me a moment," he says, starting to circle her. He looks up and down her body, and for some odd reason, she doesn't feel as uncomfortable as she's ever been with someone seeing her naked.

Still circling her, Katniss asks, "Your new aren't you? I don't think I've seen you in past years." Most stylist are familiar contestants in the ever-changing pool of tributes. Some have been around her whole life.

"Yes, this is my first year here for the games," he says casually.

"So they gave you District 12," she says with a tad of disgust in her tone.

"I asked for District 12," he says with no further explanation. "So, Katniss, about your costume for the opening ceremonies. My partner, Portia, is the stylist for your fellow tribute, Peeta. And our current thought is to dress you in complementary costumes. As you know, it's customary to reflect the flavor of the district." In past years, the stylist have dressed District 12 up in baggy miner's jumpsuits or made them go out stark naked only covered in coal dust. There may have been other costumes they had, but that is what it is most of the time, so that's all Katniss remembers for her districts' past costumes.

"So, I'll be wearing a coal miner outfit, right," she says as it's more of a fact than a questions. Cinna just shakes his head.

"Not exactly. You see, Portia and I think that coal miner thing's very overdone. No one will remember you in that. And we both see it as our job to make the District 12 tributes unforgettable." The way Cinna says this that makes Katniss feel a little queasy. "So rather than focus on the coal mining itself, we're going to focus on the coal." He pauses. "And what do we do with coal? We burn it," he says, _ forming at the pit of her stomach. "You're not afraid of fire are you, Katniss?" He sees the fear written across her face and grins.

He dresses her up in a simple black unitard that covers her from ankle to neck. Shiny leather boots lace up to her knees. But it's the fluttering cape made of streams of orange, yellow, and red and the matching headpiece that define this costume. With each passing second in the costume, she dreads the opening ceremonies even more than she did before she even found out what she would be wearing. And even though Cinna had assured her that the flames he will be lighting her in are completely safe, and she will not be harmed one bit by them. She know he meant it to be soothing, but it didn't make it any better.

Her face is relatively clear of makeup, just a bit of high-lighting her and there. Her hair pulled back in her usual braid. "I want the audience to recognizable you when you're in the arena," he says dreamily. "Katniss, the girl who was on fire.

His personality that has set her at ease when she had just met her only terrifies her now. She was now sure he was a complete madman.

* * *

Cato's stylist is standing off to the side, admiring her work while he examines himself in the mirror. His face is streaked with gold, his hair looking as if it were pure gold itself, everything is gold. The outfit has a breastplate that appeared chrome, but is painted and decorated with enough glittering gold that it doesn't matter.

He moves from side to side, seeing every detail that is on the costume. His stylist is beaming like an idiot. The look's silly, but this is the Capitol for heaven's sake, they won't care, if anything get him lots of sponsors. But like he said to his mother, he didn't need anything from the sponsors. Though it is nice to know that they aren't sponsoring the other tributes, so that don't get the help that could cost him his life. Not that it really matters anyway, they really don't stand a chance against him.

They go out of the room and meet Clove, Enbrodia, and Brutus, who are waiting for him by the elevator. Clove is dressed in the same stupid outfit he is. Her hair is pulled tightly into a bun, gold streaks go across the sides of her hair, just above her ears.

"About time," she says glumly, clearly not happy about the costume herself. She smacks the down button on the elevator. "Let's just go and get this over with."

"Remember Clove, sunshine and daisies," Enbrodia says making Clove's scowl deepen, and causes Cato to laugh at the ridiculous advise.

"Clove isn't sunshine and daises; she dark, hurricane clouds that destroys everything in her path," Cato says still laughing.

"You too, Cato," Enbrodia says. That shut him up and sending Clove in a fit of giggles.

"Cato..." giggle. "smile..." giggle. "Yeah right..." full blown laugh. She folds over, holding her hand to her stomach.

"Oh shut up Clove, I can smile."

"Cato, you don't smile, you give this scary/ugly smirk," Brutus says without emotion. "Both of you just smile and get lots of sponsors and you'll both do fine." The doors to the elevator open, and they all step in. Clove pushes the button to the first floor, and the doors close. They don't say anything on the way down and stay a ways away from one another.

When the doors open they are met with the loud noises the Capitolites are making behind the big doors that block them from seeing the tributes before the parade. At the moment they're only about half of the tributes are present. Though their outfits are somewhat strange, it doesn't make Cato feel any better about feeling like a Capitolite. Although, District 2 will just stand out more, and get him more sponsors.

Their mentors say a quick good luck and leave to wherever the mentors go during the parade. Cato and Clove go to their chariot and study the other tributes. Markel and Glitter—or whatever their names are—come up to them. Markel is dressed in a shiny gray tux with jewels coming down the opening of the coat, and two slightly big diamonds for the buttons. Glitter has on a dress, that is just long enough to cover her ass,with the same shiny gray Markel has on. It is tight-fitted at the top till about the middle of ther stomach, then flows out in ruffles. They have something in their hair that give off the allusion of their hair also having jewels in them. Their faces are covered in silver makeup, making their emerald eyes really stand out from the rest of their silver figure.

"Hello," Glitter says seductively, batting her long eyelashes at Cato, and twirling her long blonde curls. He gives a small wink, and she giggles sexily at the ground. _What a slut_, Cato thinks to himself, though not that he would ever say that out loud to anyone. "It's Cato, right?" He gives a small nod of his head, and she giggles again. "I'm Glimmer." _Whoops I got the name wrong_, Cato thinks,_ Oh well, Glitter was close_. He gives another nod, and turns to the District 1 boy.

They stare at each other for a while before he realizes what Cato was waiting for. "Oh, sorry. I'm Marvel," he says, the words coming out in jumbles. He sticks out his hand; no one makes a move to shake it. He cleared his throat, pulling his hand back awkwardly and running it through his wavy brown hair, and adverting his light blue eyes elsewhere.

Glimmer shakes her head at him, then looking back at the District 2 tributes. "So, are we in the alliance?" She looks at Cato, batting her long eyelashes, which, like the rest of her, is silver. Cato is about to answer her, when some capitolites say into a bullhorn for the tributes to get on their chariots.

"We'll see in training." With that he turns and goes to his chariot.

Before he hops on, he looks around at the other tributes. Most of them, too, are dressed ridiculously, but mostly due to the fact that they have bad stylists.

In the back of the line of tributes, he sees her. Katniss Everdeen. Her hair pulled back into a simple braid, with some of her shorter hair falling along the side of her emotionless face in curls. Her and her partner are dressed in the same black full body outfit that fits tightly around them, but in no way uncomfortable. Her partner looks uneasy and fearful. _Crybaby. _

Cato gets on and leans over to whisper in Clove's ear. "Remember: sunshine and daisies." She snorts.

"Whatever."

The doors open up, revealing the big crowd of cheering capitolites. The music starts, and the first chariot begins to roll out, making the crowds cries go louder. _I'm gonna be deft by the time this over_, Cato thinks. Their chariot lurches forward, Cato and Clove immediately putting on their biggest smiles. They are calling his name.

_Cato! Cato! Cato!_

Many of the young, even some of the older women are swooning from the sight of him. He's on the big screens around the streets, his name's being called, he's well muscled and intimidating compared to the rest of the tributes; he's going to get so many sponsors. And to top it all off, he winks at some girls at the front of the crowd of people surrounding the street.

They're almost to the end of the street, when a new name started to be chanted.

_Katniss! Katniss!_ Katniss!

Cato looks up at the screen, his face no longer fills the screen, but a certain girl with dark hair and gray eyes does. Her face illuminated with an orange glow. He stares at the screen with utter shock. At first her face is confused and in its usual scowl, then slowly turns into a smile without a hint of her forcing it. She waves and blows kisses to the crowd, who aimlessly try and catch them.

Cato scowls at them all, his face turning red with fury. He stares straight ahead, not caring what people think of him now. At that moment he feels white hot hate towards that District 12 rat, who, at the moment, is stealing all his sponsors. He looked over at Clove, who also was fuming about District 12's costume, and gave up the whole 'sunshine and daisies' act.

When they're all circled around the balcony that the president is standing on and making his speech, Cato give Katniss his worst death glare he could muster. Her smile from earlier had disappeared, but it still isn't in that ugly scowl she always wears. It's more neutral.

Katniss must have felt his stare, because she turns and meets his icy blue eyes. She holds his gaze for a couple of seconds before rolling her eyes and looking back towards President Snow. He does the same.

_She may have that tough girl act now_, Cato thinks,_ but soon the whole country will see her as she truly is. A weak little sixteen year old girl from District 12, and no better skilled than the rest of them._

Though he told himself that tons of times, something in the back of his head kept nagging that it isn't true. That she isn't like the rest of her district. There's something about her that makes her stand out, and it isn't the fact that she just rolled down the street on fire. He didn't know what it is, but right then and there he made it his number one goal to figure it out.

He looks back over and sees that they are holding hands. _Well_, he thinks, his mood shifting,_ looks like I found something worth use._

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**Hey awesome readers. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review. Feel free to check out my other stories and leave a review. It would really make my day. BTW I added a new story yesterday.**

**Have a wonderful rest of the day. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Cinna and Portia rush over to Peeta and Katniss, and use some Capitol invention to extinguish their flames. Haymitch and Effie aren't far behind their stylist, congratulating and praising them on how they did wonderful jobs out there. Effie babbles on about how they are sure to get lots of sponsors now. Haymitch just rolls his eyes, and gives them a thumbs up.

"Well done you two," he slurs. "And sweetheart," he turns towards her with an amused smirk on his wasted face, "who knew you could smile like that? Never knew you even had it in ya. You should do it more often, it makes your face..." He trails off, his eyes focusing on something behind them.

Katniss turns, her gray eyes meeting an icy blue gaze. It belongs to the boy from two. He stares at her with an intense glare, daring her to give into fear and look away. She doesn't budge, no matter how hard she wants to, she just looks him in the eyes full on, trying to give him an indifferent expression. In these moments the world seems to go still. The world around them is forgotten.

Haymitch puts a hand on Katniss' shoulder, bringing her out of her daze. She takes a few steps backward towards the elevator, not taking her eyes off of the boy, then turns all the way around and leaves, not bothering to see if they are following or not. Surprisingly, they don't. Which, for Katniss, is good. She wants to be alone anyway.

She gets into an empty elevator, and highlights the "12" button. She leans up against the elevator wall, closing her eyes, replaying the opening ceremonies in her head.

In the last fifteen minutes, she had openly smiled and waved at the people she despised. In the last fifteen minutes, she was something else. Even though it isn't the way she had expected to change while she was here, it's a scary thought. The games have barely begun and she's already changing. Maybe she had always had that inside her, she just didn't let it show, either way, if just being in front of a big crowd of people had made her act that way, she doesn't want to find out how she'll act in the games. Unluckily for her, she's about to find out.

Just as the doors are about to close, someone else walks in, and pushes their floor. Even thought they stand on opposite sides of the elevator, Katniss starts to feel claustrophobic, and presses into the wall behind her. Slowly, she opens her eyes- but only to where she's squinting through small slits. On the buttons she she sees the "2" highlighted a few below her "12".

_Crap_, she thinks.

She relaxes her face and puts on her indifferent expression, hoping whoever the two is, they'll buy it.

Her whole body tenses again when she hears them clear their throat. All she does is stand still, desperately trying to keep her mask. She slows her breathing, imagining that's she in the woods with Gale, hunting. She imagines that if she does everything she does in the woods to camouflage with her surroundings, she'll get the same outcome in the elevator. She has no such luck.

"What?" a male voice sneers. "Am I just so scary to you, that you can't even look at me?" Katniss' eyes snap open, and she glares at him. He's casually leaning against the wall facing towards her, his arms folded across his chest, and an amused smirk playing on his lips.

Up close, she can see that he's about 6'1, and his biceps looks almost as wide as Katniss' head. She finds that it's easier to look at him better from far away. She has to look up to see all of his face, whereas when she looks straight ahead, she only sees his chin. He is most defiantly more intimidating closer up, she can't help but feel smaller next to him, but like last time, she doesn't look away. She refuses to give the wrong impression of her; the one where she appears weak. It's not in her nature. That act might have worked well for Johanna Mason, but not for Katniss.

"Like what you see, twelve?" he asks. She rolls her eyes, but doesn't look away from him.

"Why are you so quiet? Too scared to talked to me too?" Anger is starting to boil within her, but she knows he's just trying to make her talk. No amount of teasing will make her talk. She's had lots of practice from merchants. Surely, he'll figure this out soon. "I know you can talk. After all you did volunteer for you sister." She is surprised that he, a boy from District 2, remembers that she, a girl from District 12, volunteered for her sister. "Obviously you didn't want her to steal all the glory. Not that you or her would have gotten glory in any case. You both probably wouldn't have made it past the bloodbath. She would have probably even-"

"Shut up," Katniss hisses dangerously, her face red with fury. She takes a step towards him. "All of you careers think you know everything, but you don't!" Her voice starts to rise in volume, "You most certainly don't know anything about me, so just shut up and keep all that shit to yourself!" She steps even closer, closer than she feels comfortable, but she ignores it. He's grinning down at her likes he's won something.

"And get that stupid smirk off your face. People talk all the time. Nothing's new just because I did." The anger inside her grows when he shakes his head and chuckles softly. She curls her tight fists, her newly perfect nails digging into her skin, to restrain herself from punching him square in the face and getting in trouble with the game makers. "You know," she says with a slight smirk. "I think the only reason the others are scared of you is because of your smile, or at least what I think is supposed to be your smile." His face heats up, his smile dropping. he replaces the smirk with a death glare. She smiles innocently at him.

"Boy, I ought to," he growls, gripping his short blonde hair. She waits for him to continue, but he doesn't.

"What? I'm curious as to what _amazing_ threat would have been."

He shakes his head, his smirk returning. "Well, they always did say 'curiosity killed the cat'. Guess your going to prove that, _Kat_niss." He places his face close to her's, his eyes threatening. His warm breath blows across her face.

She doesn't back away from him. Instead she just says with sarcasm dripping from her voice, "Ha ha. You're so funny." He pushes her back, and other than the fact that he's stronger than her so she goes back a few steps, Katniss is unaffected by his supposed 'intimidating' figure.

"I try." He walks to her, and forces her backwards until he has her cornered. They stare into each other's eyes, his finger slowly trailing up her arm, leaving goosebumps in its path. Slowly, the fear creeps in. Though it doesn't show on her face, it does in her eyes, which just happens to be where he's looking.

He laughs. "Finally."

Just as his finger makes its way to her neck, the elevator doors open, saving her from whatever he was about to do to her. But before he backs away, he leans down and whispers in her ear, "See you tomorrow, twelve." In no way is what he said sounded nice or sweet. In a way it sounded more like a threat. Though his last attempts at those had failed to scare her, this one did. He sees this and shakes his head, chuckling softly. He steps out and walks down the hall, without giving her a second glance.

Once he's out of sight and the doors close, she lets out a breath she hadn't known she was holding.

When the doors open to her floor, she stands there, frozen in the same position he left her in. She slips out just before the the doors close. She rushes to her room, not wanting to see the others, who are already on the floor, or maybe she just doesn't want the other's to see her in this state. Doesn't want them to ask the same questions she's been asking herself, and still doesn't have the answers to.

She opens and closes her door quietly, and hops in the shower. The buttons here are even more confusing than the ones on the train. She had wanted to get in the shower, hoping that it would help sooth her, but not knowing the buttons doesn't help when you end up with the scents of coconut, pineapple, and cinnamon. She;d have to ask Cinna about it later.

Giving up on trying to relax, she gets out and wraps herself in a white, fluffy towel. She finds herself smiling as she drys herself, liking the comfortable feeling the towel gives. Then, the anger comes. At home she had to use small, torn up rags to dry off when or if she got a bath. Though she only had a bath once or twice a month, she's mad because the Capitol got to have a shower everyday, and have big, nice and soft towel, and many more luxuries. At home it took nearly an hour to fill up the tub, and here all they had to do is push a button, and water comes pouring out. At this moment she's even more glad Gale didn't come with her. If he had seen all of this, he would have had the biggest of fits. He would rage and probably pour his heart out about all his deepest of feeling towards the Capitol and get himself killed.

She finishes drying off, trying to push aside her anger towards the Capitol, and her sudden loneliness those few short rants she just had, and goes into her bedroom. There's a girl, probably in her late twenties, with long, curly, un-brushed red hair. She's picking up her costume for the Opening Ceremonies, that she had mindlessly left lying on the floor.

"Oh, sorry about that. Would you mind taking that to Cinna for me," Katniss says apologetically. The girls nods, not looking at her. Katniss dresses in one of the Capitol nightgowns in the drawers, while the girl turns down the bed.

Katniss turns around just as the girl turns to leave, her face still looking down at the ground, but enough of her face is shown for Katniss to recognize her.

"Hey, I know you, right?" Katniss questions. The girl freezes, her eyes go wide, and she shakes her head vigorously. Katniss realizes that it probably not good that she knows her, so she tries and covers herself up, "Sorry, you look like this girl back home." She gives a small smile, and turns to leave again. "I'm sorry." Katniss can tell the girl can tell that her apology goes deeper than just mistaken her for someone else. She knows that it's for not saving her that time in the woods. The girl turns around again to look at her. Her eyes are soft and sad, right along with the smile she gives. The girl shakes her head. She points at Katniss then to herself, trying to demonstrate that if she had tried to save her, she would have ended up like her.

"I'm still sorry for it though." The girl nods, but instead of leaving, she walks over to her and leads her to the bed. Katniss lets the girl tuck her in, like she used to be when she was little. The girl pats her cheek softly and kisses her on the forehead. Giving one stroke of Katniss' hair, she leaves the room. Katniss is glad that she had seen the girl then, it had helped forget about that big District 2 boy, and let her fall asleep without thinking about him again that night.

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**YAY early update. Hope you liked it. I know it's kind of slow, but it should pick up soon. Please, please, please leave a review. I feel like my writing isn't all that good cause you guys aren't leaving anything for me to read. The only thing that keeps me going is all of you guys following and marking this as a favorite. So PLEASE leave a review, I really want to hear what you guys think of this story. Also please check out my other stories, and leave a review too.**

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**~Txcutee**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey sorry for the late update. Life can be so hectic sometimes. Not much to say so I hope you enjoy the chapter**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games**

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**Chapter 5**

As they go down to the Training Room in the elevator, Katniss tries to hurry and finish the piece of bread she stuffed in her mouth before she got in. The bread had been whole, and a whole lot easier to eat, had Effie not been with them by the elevator, making her desperately try to finish the bread and not die choking. Truthfully, that would be a very stupid way to die; choking on a piece of bread _before_ going into The Hunger Games.

Damn you Effie, Katniss growls mentally. Effie had said she couldn't take the toast with her, and with them already being late to training, she had no choice but to cram the thing into her mouth. Effie made a face, but she was too starving to care what Effie thought about her. Not that she ever did anyway.

Now, in the elevator, Katniss is sure she looks like one of those chubby chipmunks she sees sometimes in the woods. Her cheeks are stretched out as far as they can take, but it's not enough to have her mouth closed. Peeta stands next to her, his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. She hits his arm, with more force than probably necessary, making him lose control and let out booms of laughter that echo around the elevator. She glares at him for a few moments before even more ridiculous then before, and starts laughing herself, bits of soggy, chewed pieces of bread spewing out of her mouth and down her chin, making Peeta laugh even harder. Katniss wipes that bread from her now flushed face. She looks up at the numbers above the doors. There's only a few floors until the Training Room. Katniss chews the bread at an even faster pace.

They doors open, revealing a big room filled with equipment and weapons. There's a balcony where the game makers are sitting, studding them. All the tributes, except from District 12 anyway, are in a half circle. They are the last ones there, and all the others seems a little annoyed, some look frightened out of their minds. The careers roll their eyes and look away, except for the boy from 2, who still is watching Katniss intently. She keeps her head down, trying to avoid seeing those cold blue eyes again.

They join the half at the end of the tribute's half circle, then the head trainer, Atlta, lists off all the rules of the training room and that we shouldn't ignore all the survival stations. Katniss is only half listening to what she's saying though, instead she studies her competitors. Without meaning to, her eyes meet the boy from 2's icy blue stare. He smirks as her face reddens again.

Peeta taps on her shoulder, and Katniss looks over to him, glad for a reason to look away. "Where should we go first?" he asks. Katniss looks around, noticing that the Careers and a few others, one of them being the boy from 11, are off at the weapons area, while others went to the survival stations. She's afraid she might become attached to another tribute (especially that little girl from 11 who looks so much like Prim), so she veers to the knot tying station, as it's the only one that's empty.

A pang of worry hits her as she wonders how her family is doing, along with the Hawthornes, but she pushes it aside, knowing that Gale wouldn't let them starve, plus Peeta's father said he would also take care of them.

At the station, she watches to see the skills of her adversaries. The tributes from 4 aren't up to their normal standards this year, thankfully. The girl from 2 is visibly lethal with a knife. Not once did she miss her aimed target, or even coming close to missing. It's always right in the bulls eye, much like how Katniss is with her bow and arrows.

Her eyes drift over to the archery station; the girl from 1 is trying to pull back the string. Katniss scoffs and rolls her eyes at how pathetic she looks. She looks away to the next tribute before she loses herself and gets up just to show her how to actually shoot an arrow.

Her tribute is over at the spear throwing station, his spears making it right through the dummies' hearts each time from twenty feet away, a look of pure triumph crossing his face each his weapon makes its aimed mark.

All the others, except for the boy from 11, who seemed to be mastering all of the weapons within about fifteen minutes, don't really have a chance of survival. Maybe they're trying to hide their strengths like her, but she highly doubts it considering most of them are scared out of their minds. The girl from 5, her flaming red hair pulled up in a loose bun, seems to spend lots of time at the plant station, and is really quite good at it from what Katniss can tell. Also, the girl from 11, who follows them from station, has something about her that Katniss can't help but think she could win this if only had a little help-

_Stop that, Katniss_, Katniss commands herself. _You're here to win and get back to Prim, not help another twelve year old girl, who looks like Prim, win the Games._

At each station, Katniss' eyes always seem to wander back to the boy from 2. There's just something about him that just interested her. She watches him for long periods of time out of the corner of her eye. She watches how clean and precise his moves are when he slashes the sword through the dummy. During her observation, she notices that he, also, looks over at her. Never as long as she does, just glances.

While she's at the plant identifying station, she hears someone yelling. She turns around and sees the boy from 2 screaming at the boy a couple of stations down from her. He goes on about how he thinks the boy from 3 took his knife. He tries to make advancements and hit the boy, but three trainers hold him back. Above him in the nets of the climbing station, the little girl from 11 lays there smirking, holding the "missing" knife in her hands. Katniss smirks up at her, shaking her head slightly. Her eyes go back to the boys and finds the boy from 2 scowling at her, his face red from fury. He pushes past the trainers, striding up to her.

"You took it didn't you, twelve?" he says as more of a statement than a question, though he is incorrect.

"Now how would I do that, two?" she replies calmly. "I was over her the entire time, and your knife was over there, so why on earth would you suspect me?" His scowl deepens.

"I'd watch my back in the arena , twelve," he spits. "That is, if you even make it out of the blood bath."

"I'd learn to not underestimate my foes," she retorts before turning away.

Cato, not wanting her to have the last word, comes up behind her and hisses in her ear, "That means, if you follow your own rules, you wouldn't dare underestimate _me_." She rolls her eyes.

"I don't doubt your _skills_, two," she says, anger starting to appear in her voice. "But—"

"Just drop it, Katniss," Peeta interrupts, pulling on her arm back towards the station. Katniss reluctantly follows him, shooting one last glare in Cato's direction over her shoulder.

The next couple of days go by similar to the first. Peeta and Katniss go from station to station, learning new things, Katniss sneaking peaks at Cato, Cato glaring at Katniss from across the training room, but at the end of the third day is when the routine twists.

The District 12 tributes are at the fire making station, both of them scraping rocks over some wood. Cato watches them for a moment before he slashes through another dummy. He has to do this now if he wants his plan to fall through. So, with one deep breath, he walks over to the fire making station, and positioning himself between the two. He begins doing the same swift movements as the people beside him. Katniss doesn't even acknowledge him, but her partner is stiff. He watches Katniss out of the corner of his eye. With another quick swipe of her rocks, a few sparks fly out and land on the pile of wood in front of her, slowly starting to burn. She bends down and blows a little to get the flames going.

"Nice," Cato comments. She rolls her eyes, but doesn't say anything. On the other side of him, her partner still clumsily smacking his rock, clearly not really know what he's doing

"You're never going to start a fire like that." He looks up at Cato, his face flushing a little, and looks down, fidgeting with discomfort. Cato smirks at him.

"What are you doing here?" asks a female voice behind him, her voice sounding annoyed. He looks over at her, still smirking.

"Doing the exact same thing you are, twelve. Learning some new skills."

"Well, being from where you are, I'd figure that you would already know how to do that and would focus more on the weapons."

"You're right," he states. "I do already know how to do this. I'm just refreshing my memory on how to do it."

"If you already know how to do this, then that isn't exactly learning new skills."

"Okay," he says, holding up his hands in mock defense. "You got me. I'm not here to refresh my memory." He winks. She stares at him, with her scowl that never seems to leave her face, waiting for him to go on. "I came here to get to know you better." Katniss stares at him, waiting for him to burst out laughing or something. After Cato doesn't do anything, she slowly starts nodding her head.

"That so?" she says, clearly thinking that something has gone wrong inside his brain.

"Yeah," he replies immediately, leaning closer so his mouth is close to her ear. "It is," he purrs in her ear. She takes a big scoot away from him.

"Well, I don't want to know you, so go away." she says tensely.

"There's no need to be scared," he says jokingly, his finger reaching up to caress her olive-colored face. "I"m not my mentor; I won't rip your throat with my teeth." He means it to be more funny than anything, but Katniss clearly doesn't think so. She smacks his hand away before standing up and leaving the station without another word. Cato smirks at her retreating figure. Even though Peeta still hasn't figured out how to start a fire, he stands up to follow his partner.

"No need to be a dog, twelve. You obviously don't have this skill down, I'd sit my ass down if I wanted to have a chance at surviving." Cato chuckles inwardly at how stupid that sounded. The boy had no chance at surviving these games.

Peeta hesitantly sits back down, picking up the rocks and trying again, never taking his eyes of Cato.

"Hey trainer person!" Cato yells. The person with neon green hair, pulled back into a short ponytail at the back of his oddly shaped head, looks up from helping another tribute. "When you're done, I think you should help this one." Cato nods his head towards the blonde next to him before standing up and going in the direction of the sword station

* * *

**Have a good week and don't forget to leave a review :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The careers sit together at the lunch tables that they pushed together. Cato sits silently, eating his food and watching Katniss out of the corner of his eye. The others converse loudly on what they're going to do for their private sessions, what they hope to score, and what they think other tributes will make. Cato just tunes them out and keeps his focus on Katniss. She, besides the careers, is the only one sitting with her district partner. The blonde in front of her seems to go on and on about something, oblivious to the fact that she isn't paying any attention to him. Instead, she picks around at her uneaten food, clearly nervous about the sessions.

_Good_, Cato thinks. _Maybe she'll get a really low score and lose her sponsors that should be mine. And then, if she loses sponsors, then I won't have to go through with my stupid but somewhat of a brilliant plan._

Katniss tells her partner something Cato can't read from her lips. He nods hesitantly, and Katniss gets up from the table. Cato watches as she walks over to the table where the small girl from District 11 sits. Katniss smiles at her before sitting down. They don't talk much, but neither of them look uncomfortable with the silence. Katniss also doesn't wear her omnipresent scowl, instead she looks more relaxed and pleasant. Cato squints, trying to make sure his eyes aren't deceiving him. It looks as if there is a small smile on her lips. Which just seems kind of impossible.

From across the room, Cato can see Thresh also watching the two girls. He fidgets, debating if Katniss' being there is a good or bad, and if he should go over there. In fact, Cato can see a few other tributes also are looking in that direction; it's not really that common for people from different districts (besides the careers districts of course) to sit with one another.

Cato waits to see if anyone is going to go over there, but no one moves to their table.

Cato stands, leaving his food at the table. Behind him, he can hear the career's talking cease. He could basically feel all of their eyes trained on him; hear their thought of '_where the hell is he going_?'.

He takes a seat next to Katniss, who scowls at him, all smiles she had earlier—or at least what he's pretty sure was a smile- is gone. The girl from 11 looks at her lap shyly, unsure if she should do anything.

"What are you two ladies up to?" Cato asks, leaning in slightly closer to Katniss, who wrinkles her nose in disgust, then fidget, uncomfortable with him being so close. Well, probably with him just being there at all.

"What do you want, _two_?" she growls, ignoring his question.

"Is it illegal for a guy to sit with his friend?" he teases.

"We are _not_ friends." she spits. From the corner of his eyes, he can see just about everyone in the room is watching their little dispute, which Katniss is still oblivious to.

"Fine," Cato say, raising his hands in a peaceful gesture. "I guess we haven't known each other long enough to have that kind of a title." He pauses, leaning in even closer, lowering his voice, his breath flowing out on her cheek. "Maybe we can learn to be friends soon." He then lower his voice to an even quieter whisper, his voice coming out in a purr. "And if you want, maybe even something more." He nearly gags at the thought.

Them.

Together.

Impossible.

Besides she doesn't have much time left to be living, he's not going to risk getting too close to her. He's not going to waste his time on someone like her anyway. She is a threat to his winning, and she will not get in his way. And, he isn't going to be seen across the country with his tongue down the throat of a girl from the poorest district in all of Panem.

She slams her fist down on the table, hard, making everyone in the room jump. Her eyes look around, suddenly conscience of everyone looking at them. She looks back to him, looking him straight in the eyes. She lowers her voice, and hisses out, "What the hell is your problem?!"

"My problem is that you don't want to be my friend," he jokes, the smirk evident in his voice.

Giving him one more glare, she stands and goes back to the table with her district partner, without a second glance back in his direction.

Cato stands as well. He gives a small wink towards the little girl, who is looking at him through half-lidded eyes, before going back to his table with the careers. He shoots death glares at all of the other tributes who are still gaping at him. As soon as Cato takes his seat at the table, Marvel blurts out the question basically everyone in the room is asking.

"What the fuck were you doing with that bucket of twelve scum shit?" Almost instantaneously, the others let out there own little comments. All except for Clove, who studies him closely. Cato holds her gaze, trying to tell her with his eyes that he'll tell her what he's doing later.

"SHUT UP!" Clove exclaims after she looks away from him. "It's obvious he's not going to say anything to anyone. Besides," she shoots a smirk in his direction. "What he does with that dirt is his business." They all start to snicker at him. Well, Glimmer tries to fake it, without success though.

"Aw, is someone mad because some worthless crap might get to see places you wanted to yourself?" Marvel teases. Glimmer gives up the whole 'pretending not to care' attitude and crosses her arms, turning her head, her face and neck flushed with anger and embarrassment. Cato scowls at Clove, who returns with an "innocent" smile.

They then all go back to the talk about their private sessions. Cato joining in this time.

* * *

Back in the training room, the game makers are sitting in big colorful chairs with velvet cushions. A few of them look a little bored, their elbows on the arm of the chair, head on their fist. Others, sit talking amongst the people around them, but when they see him, their conversations cease and they all sit up, excited at what he has to show them.

"Cato Cross," he introduces himself-as if they didn't already know who he is. "District 2." Also unimportant information if they already know who he is—which they should. If they didn't, then he's not doing too hot with getting sponsors from the rest of the Capitol. The head game maker nods his head, encouraging him to get on with it.

He walks over to where all the swords are lined up, just waiting for him to swing through the air. He picks the largest one, knowing from the past few days here in training, that he did best with this one. He then goes to the dummies and slashes through them like there's no tomorrow. Through the heart, across the neck, amputating the arms and legs of some, and plunging into their stomachs. From years and years of training, he didn't make one wrong step or slash of the sword.

Before he knew it, one of the game makers is calling to him that his time is up. From the looks on their faces, he knows they're impressed with his performance. He leaves the room and goes back up to his floor, with a satisfied smile plastered upon his lips, knowing he will not be disappointed with his score.

_Beat that firegirl. You can kiss your little sponsors goodbye._

* * *

When Clove gets back, she too, looks content with how her session went. Before anyone else on the floor could see her, she pulls Cato aside into another room.

"So what's your brilliant-possibly stupid-plan that involves firgirl?" Cato quickly tells her the basics of it. "That could actually work." she say as if she's in awe that he was capable of coming up with such a plan. "But we'll have to wait and see if it's even worth it."

"We should probably just go with it anyway. When I saw her down there it looked like she was hiding something. Beside she goes last."

"And how do we know that she didn't just get it because she just is that bad?"

"We'll just have to take a chance."

"Fine, but I want to be the one to kill her."

"No way," Cato exclaims.

"Oh come off it. I'm letting you go with the plan, you kind of owe me."

"I wasn't asking your permission, I owe you nothing. Besides, I was the one to start it, and I'll be the one to finish it." Cloves' silent, debating if she should just agree with him or keep arguing about something that is just a hopeless case.

"Fine but I want all rights to District one."

"Whatever."

"Think of all the things I could do with my knife to that pretty little face of her's." she says with an evil glint in her eyes.

Cato chuckles. "I'd like to see the aftermath of that."

"Aw, and I'd think you'd be used to girls drooling over that _magnificent _body of yours." she says, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Haha, very funny Clove. God, she's so fucking annoying!" Clove shakes her head, and they go back to where the others are for dinner.

They eat in silence. There's no need for the mentors to ask—or even care really—they just know they're good enough to not screw up. Their escort however, asks a few times about it, but after the glares Cato and Clove send his way, he just keeps his mouth shut.

After dinner they all go to the living room to watch the training scores, Clove and Cato sitting with notebooks and pens for notes. Glimmer scores a eight, Marvel a nine. Clove scores a ten, as well as Cato, who is pissed that he got the same score as her. The girl from 3 gets a four, and the boy a five. The girl from 4, Lillian, snags a seven, the same for the boy, Ash. The rest average to about a five. The girl from 11 (who name,Cato learns, is Rue) gets a seven, which is surprisingly good for a girl her size and from where she originates. Her partner get a ten (which pisses off Cato even more than when Clove got her ten). Peeta face is shown and then a flashing eight.

Then, the person he's been waiting for, face is shown off to the right of Ceaser Flickerman. Her face is in its usual scowl, her hair pulled back into her accustom braid. She's dressed in the clothes she wore the first day of training—not that he had really paying attention or anything.

"Katniss Everdeen of District 12. And she scores a..." he pauses, double checking the paper in his hands with all the scores. An eleven flashes up on the screen, making Cato's blood run cold, his face hot with fury. "Eleven." he finishes, obviously as surprised as he is—well probably the whole damned country is shocked. Cato shares a look with Clove, who look just dangerous with the murderous glint in her eyes. She could have smoke flow out of her ears because she's so furious.

How?

How did she do it?

She is from the poorest district in Panem! There is no what he saw that right.

Cato, is now more than even, ready to get the plan going.

* * *

The next day, Cato goes down to the training, sick and tired of his mentors. It's a good thing he's going into the games soon. It's almost eight at night, so he's a little surprised to find that the lights are on in the room—especially since no one is technically supposed to even be down here. Cato only came to burn off the frustration of not being able to yell at his escort. Brutus quickly came up with his angle for the interviews and dismissed him early. His escort however, wouldn't shut up about how he's doing everything wrong. Obviously, he doesn't do well with people telling him what to do.

He silently goes to the doors, curious as to what's making the soft thumping noises. Discreetly as he can, he peeks inside. There, at the other end of the room, is a small figure, with black hair pulled into a familiar braid that swings across her back as she shoot her arrows. Her aim is perfect. Not once did her arrow even come close to missing anything but dead center. She shoots arrow after arrow, lost in her own little world, oblivious to the sound of Cato's heavy footsteps as he walks across the floor.

"You've got some aim there, twelve." She spins around, dropping her bow in surprise, her face full of horror that someone saw her shooting arrows. "I knew you were holding something back during training. But if you don't mind me asking; where did you learn to be so handy with a bow? If I remember correctly, District 12 doesn't train for The Hunger Games, nor does it have enough money to supply equipment so people can train if they so wish. So how on earth did you acquire a bow to practice? You never touched one during training, and I don't think someone with a years worth of practice could shoot that well."

After a moment, she regains her voice and replies coolly."Sounds like somebody's obsessed. I mean if you know that much. Sounds like you've really thought this through. Am I just _so_ addicting you can't stop thinking about me?"

"You wish." She rolls her eyes, and scowls at the floor. "That's how you got that eleven isn't it?" She's silent for a moment.

"Not exactly..." she says, her voice trailing off a the end, her lips pulling up into the smallest smirk.

Cato's next move is fast and unexpected, not leaving enough times for Katniss to step out of Cato's reach. He pushes her up against the closest wall, his hand wrapped tightly around her wrists, most likely leaving hand-shaped bruises underneath.

"Then how exactly did you get it?" She doesn't answer, so he decides to go on with his plan; what he hadn't planned to do until tomorrow, before or after the interviews. Having her stand so helplessly against the wall she'd have to agree. It's the perfect time. "You know...you'd do fine in the careers." Her reaction is exactly how he suspected.

"_What_? The careers?"

"Yup." He nods, popping the p. "I'm asking you to join the careers. And an answer would be nice."

"Are you on something?"

"Say you'll join before I change my mind, firegirl." he says a little irritated. "You could be a lovely asset. You have the skills, and a temper that's kind of entertaining."

"_I_ have a temper? What about _you_ mister. 'who-the-hell-stole-my-unimportant-knife-I'll-rais e-my-bloody-temper-over-because-I'm-a-raging-beast '?"

"Raging beast? At least my 'raging beast' tendencies will keep me alive in the arena unlike that pansy boy who's your district partner."

"He's not a pansy!"

"He bakes and paints for a living. If someone described him to me using the pronoun 'it' instead of 'he', I would have assumed him a girl."

"Why would want me in your stupid career group anyway? Isn't it for the elitist-been-training-since-kindergarden-ers only?

"It's for the strongest competitors." _And for anyone I'll use for their help and kill later_. "And I'm pretty sure you just proved yourself worthy of being one of them.

"I wasn't trying to prove anything to you! I didn't even know you were there watching me!"

"Do you want to be in the alliance or not?!"

She thinks for a moment. "Not."

"Why not?" Cato all but whines. "A lot of people would be grateful to be in our group."

"Well, I'm not of that lot. I don't want to be in a group of blood thirsty, sadistic, killing machines!"

"Just think about it."

"I don't have to think about anyth-" Cato puts his finger up to her lips.

"Just think about it." He turns around and leaves the training room, leaving her more confused than ever.

_Time for plan B_.

* * *

**Hey guys. Hoped you liked the chapter. I'd love to hear from all of you on what you guys think so far. Constructive criticism is always welcome.**

**So earlier I went and saw _The Host_. It was amazing. I highly recommend it. Did anyone else go and see it?**

**Also I want all of you to look up the song '_True Love_' by P!nk and tell me if it also reminds you of Cato and Katniss' relationship.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Peeta, Haymitch, Effie, Cinna, and Portia sit around the dinner table (though dinner has long since passed) talking about Peeta's angle, sponsors, and how Haymitch thinks Katniss is as interesting as a dead slug, and the like. It all ceases though when then they hear the elevator doors slide open. Katniss comes in from around the corner, not noticing them at the table, absentmindedly curling and uncurling her fingers in the hem of her shirt. Peeta's learned that she does this whenever she's deep in thought.

"Well, look who decided to finally show up." Effie says, irritated. Katniss stops, swiveling her head towards Effie's voice, surprised. "You know dinner was over an hour ago?! You're late and now you've missed the meal!"

"Sorry, I lost track of time."

"That is no excuse for tardiness. You weren't even supposed to leave the floor! Where di-"

"Did you just apologize to her?" Haymitch interrupts, his mouth hanging open. She nods with as much as a roll of the eyes.

"Haymitch! It's very rude to stare at people!" Haymitch just keeps gawking at Katniss like she just grew another head, ignoring Effie completely. Peeta just rolls his eyes at everyone.

Katniss shifts her weight from foot to foot, her hands playing with the bottom of her shirt again, waiting for some else to say something. When no one does she announces that she's going to bed. She sees that everyone is still staring at her. She quickly says a good night and rushes out of the room. Everyone stares in the direction in which she left until they hear the sound of her bedroom door open and close.

Haymitch is the first to speak. "You see that Effie?" He shakes his head, taking a gulp of his liquor. "You've ruined her!" He takes another swig.

"I did no such thing! In fact she's acting much more human now then when she didn't have any manners."

"No ones going to have manners in the games; no one is going to be human anymore in there." They're bickering goes on for a while, but Peeta just ignores them, lost in thought. He knows she was in the training room, she told him when he asked where she was going earlier. Something must have happened down there; talked to someone, did somethings she wasn't supposed to, got in trouble for being in the training room after hours. Whatever happened, it made her only semi-conscious of the world around her—which also probably explains why she was so abnormally polite. He doesn't say any of this to the others, just gets up and excuses himself from the room.

He walks past his room and goes to Katniss'. He knocks twice on the door, but there is no response from the other side of the door.

He knocks again.

"Katniss?" He waits for a moment before continuing. "Can-" He stops when the door starts to open.

"Peeta?" Katniss asks, confused as to why he is here. Peeta's starting to wonder the same thing. "What are you doing here?"

"You looked a little confused out there, just wanted to make sure everything was alright."

"I'm..." Her lips start to form the word 'fine' but it doesn't come out. Instead, she stares at him with debating eyes.

"Have you seen the roof? Cinna showed it to me earlier. There's lots a wind but the view and all the plants are nice. Kind of gives a peaceful feel. It might help you feel better." She nods, understanding what he means.

"Hold on just a second." She goes back into her room, leaving the door open slightly. He pushes the door open a little farther. Katniss is across the room, wrapping a light green shawl around her shoulder.

They make their way down the hall. They go up about a dozen stairs before they come to a metal door with red paining on that says "ROOF". Peeta pushes it open, the slightly chilly air rushing in at them.

From the corner of his eyes he sees Katniss pull her shawl slightly closer to her body, but her eyes are roaming over the landscape of the roof. On the right is a small greenhouse, plants are scattered all over the place in clusters. They aren't in anyway organized, but it's uniquely beautiful. On the left there is an area where there isn't as many plants. There is a railing there with a force field to keep the tributes 'safe' from falling off the building. The sky is dark, the stars hardly are noticeable from all the lights radiating from all of the buildings in the Capitol.

Katniss walks over to the the edge, looking over the side. People crowd the streets, probably more people are out now then when he was up here earlier. He could basically hear all of their ridiculous sequels of excitement for the games, and all the bets they're making on who they think is going to win this year. Back in District 12, most people would be in their homes, men tired from a long day of work, kids at home working on their homework, mothers making dinner for the family (if they have the food to). But these people, they stay out late without a care in the world. Out like they don't have any have anything better than to chat and make bets on the deaths of innocent children. It makes Peeta sick.

"Cato asked me to be in the careers with him." Her voice is so soft, Peeta has to strain his ears to hear her over the wind. Even though he does hear her, he's not sure he heard her right.

_They asked her to do what?!_

_The careers?_

_Why?_

_She can't!_

_They'll just kill her!_

_No!_

"You can't join them!" Peeta all but yells at her, making her flinch. "It has to be a trick! They don't really want you to join them, they just want to make sure they'll be able to kill you! They-"

"Peeta, calm down! I said no." He stares at her with wide, unbelieving eyes.

"What?" Peeta asks, confused.

"You didn't really think that I wanted to be with a bunch of blood-thirsty murderers, did you?" He doesn't anything, just laughs nervously. Katniss shakes her head at him. "Nice to know you think so highly of me."

"I...I—I didn't—I..." He stutters, trying to make up for his lack of words, but she interrupts with her laughter. Her laugh wasn't dainty at all, but it was still sweet, and Peeta loved it. She always seems bitter and sarcastic, it's nice to finally hear something happy come from her for a change.

"I was joking, Peeta. Chill out." she says, playfully punching his arm.

"Sorry 'bout that." he says embarrassed, rubbing the back of his now flushed neck. She waves his apology off with a flick of her hand before crossing her arms on the railing and looking over at the sight that lays before her.

"What would you do?" she asks softly. "Do you think I made the right choice? With saying no I mean."

Peeta thinks about it carefully, weighing all the pros and cons of being in the alliance, but, truthfully, he has no idea what he would have done in her position. "Do you want to be with them?"

"I just want to win so I can get back to Prim." she answers without hesitation. Peeta nods his head, not really knowing what to say to that.

* * *

Peeta stands by the elevator with Haymitch, Portia, and Effie, waiting for Katniss and Cinna to come out. Portia dressed Peeta in a simple black suit with flame accents on the sleeves and the pant legs, still going with the whole fire theme that the stylists made at the opening ceremonies. She is most likely to match him with Katniss again, since, after all, she is the girl on fire.

Katniss comes in with Cinna right behind her, looking absoultly striking in her interview dress, another one of Cinna's genius creations. Her dress goes to her ankles, covered from head to toes in red, yellow and white gems, with bits of blue that accent the tips of the flames design. The slightest movement gives the impression that she is engulfed in tongues of fire.

Haymitch taps the bottom of his chin twice, telling him in a low voice that he needs to close his gaping mouth and act normal before a fly flies in. He closes his mouth, only, it's so hard to keep it that way when Katniss is looking that stunning in her outfit. She is not pretty. She is not beautiful. She's so much more than that she doesn't even have a word to describe herself. She is as radiant as the sun. Never in his life has he ever been more sure of his feelings for the girl that stands in front of him.

They all get into the elevator and head down to the main level. From the corner of Peeta's eye, he watches Katniss. She nervously wipes her hands on her dress, her hands shaking slightly. Right then, he wanted to hold her hands and calm her nerves and tell her that she has nothing to worry about.

When the elevator opens, the other tributes are being lined up to be taken onto the stage. All of the tributes will sit in a big arc throughout the interviews. Since Peeta is the boy tribute of District 12, he'll be going last. Which is good. If he went on before Katniss, she might ruin his whole plan when she goes on.

They all walk single-file onto the side of the stage and sit in their assigned seats. The chairs are white, not all that fancy but more comfortable than the chairs back home in District 12. The chairs are placed where the tributes from the same district chair's are closer together, and a bit more space between each district so that it's easier to identify who is from where.

Beside him, he can hear Katniss' breath is now rapid and shallow, her legs bouncing up and down restlessly. Again, another surge of desire washes over him, he wants to just take her in his arms and comfort her with soft, soothing words, but the latter of the two will have to do for now since it would just be awkward if he all of a sudden hugged her (plus they are on camera now).

"Hey, you'll do great. They already love you." Peeta says, offering a small smile.

"That's what Cinna said." she says back quietly.

Caesar Flickerman, the man who has hosted the interviews and the games itself for more than forty years, basically hops across the stage and stands next to his seat. He wears a midnight blue ceremonial suit, dotted with thousand tiny electric bulbs that twinkle like stars you can't even see in the sky here. His hair is a powder blue along with his eyelids and his lips to match. He tells a few jokes to warm things up the audience but then gets down to business.

Each interview lasts three minutes then the buzzer goes off and the next tribute is up to try and make an impression for the sponsors. Though a lot of them are forgettable, Caesar helps a lot at making everything the tribute say or do seem wonderful. Every tribute has there angle and Caesar helps them bring it out during their three minutes on the stage.

The careers are the ones to get the most cheers as they enter and exit the stage (like always of course). The monstrous boy from District 2, Cato, plays the 'ruthless killing machine' as his angle, and Peeta watches as Katniss gives her full attention to his interview. Even though he knows that she's probably only paying that close of attention to him because she's still trying to make a decision on whether to join him in the careers or not, he can't help the pang of jealousy that now runs through his veins like hot wires of electricity. When he's finished, he leaves with loud cheers from the audience, and as he's about to take his seat, he looks over at them and sees Katniss watching him, so he gives a little wink before sitting down. Since then, her eyes seem to trail over to his figure frequently. She pays attention to the other careers as well, but not as well as she did to Cato's. Making it hard to believe what he said eeirlier when Cato was on stage.

Soon, Katniss is standing to go to the chair on stage next to Caesar's. She stares at the ground as she walks (probably to make sure she doesn't trip on anything). As she walks past the other tributes, he watches Cato, who is also watching Katniss, a smirk upon his lips. He see Katniss glance in his direction and sees this also.

As she walks onto the stage an enormous sound comes from the audience. She waves shyly as she makes her way to the chair. Caesar takes her hand in his, kissing it lightly, then helping her into the chair.

"So, Katniss, the Capitol must be quite a change from District 12. What's impressed you the most since you've arrived here?" She opens her mouth slightly, but no words come.

_Come on Katniss. They already love you. No need to be nervous._

She looks desperately for someone in the crowd, then she ends up locking her eyes with Cinna's.

After another moment, she answers. "The lamb stew," she gets out. Caesar laughs along with some a few in the crowd.

"The one with dry plums?" ask Caesar. She nods. "Oh, I eat it by the bucketful." He turns sideways to the audience in horror, hand on his stomach. "It doesn't show, does it?" They Capitolites shout reassurances to him and applaud.

"Now, Katniss," he says confidentially, "When you came out in the opening ceremonies, my heart actually stopped. What did you think of that costume?"

"You mean after I got over my fear of being burned alive?" The audience burst out laughing.

"Yes. Start then," Caesar says.

"I thought Cinna was brilliant and it was the most gorgeous costume I'd ever seen and I couldn't believe I was wearing it. I can't believe I'm wearing this, either." She lifts up her skirt to spread it out. "I mean look at it!" She stands and twirls around a couple of times, flames coming up form the bottom of the dress, up, engulfing her in same flames from their opening ceremony costume. The audience gasps at the beginning, breaks into encouraging cheers.

When she's done, you can tell that she's more at ease with the whole interview.

"So, how about that training score. Eleven. Give us a hint what happened in there."

She glances at the gamemakers on the balcony and bites her lip. "Um...I don't think I'm aloud to say anything about that, but what I will say is that I think it was a first." The cameras go to the game makers, who are chuckling and nodding. The camera go back to Caesar and Katniss.

"Let's go back then, to the moment they called your sister's name at the reaping," says Caesar, his voice quieter now. "And you volunteered. Can you tell us about her?" Her face falls, her smile gone, her eyes downcast.

_Come on Katniss._

"Her name is Prim. She's just twelve. And I love her more than anything." No one makes a sound. In fact, they all seem to be holding their breaths—even the tributes-as she speaks. You could hear a pin drop it's so quiet.

"What did she say to you? After the reaping?"

"She asked me to try really hard to win for her." The audience is frozen, hanging on every word she says.

"And what did you say?

She swallows. "I swore I would."

"I bet you did." The buzzer goes off. "Sorry we're out of time. Best of luck, Katniss Everdeen, tribute of District 12, the girl on fire!" The applause from the crowd deafening. It's most definitely bigger than any other tribute that was on that stage tonight, and it continues long after she is seated.

Peeta goes up and starts off with a few jokes. He has the entire audience from the get-go. He has the audience laughing and shouting out. He plays up the baker's son thing, comparing the tributes to the breads of their districts. Then shares a few funny stories about the perils of the Capitol shower. "Tell me, do I still smell like roses?" he asks Caesar, and then there's a whole run where they take turns sniffing each other.

"So Peeta, tell me; do you have a girlfriend back home?" Caesar asks. He hesitates, then gives an unconvincing shake of his head. "Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what's her name?" pries Caesar.

He sighs. Well...there is this one girl, I've had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I'm pretty sure she didn't know I was alive until the reaping." The crowd awws.

"She have another fellow?"

"I don't know, but a lot of guys like her."

"So, here's what you do. You win, you go home. She can't turn you down then, eh?"

"I don't think it's going to work out. Winning...won't help in my case." He lets out a sad sigh.

"Why not? You would certianly prove yourself by winning to get back to her. No girl would say no to a guy who would do that for the."

"B-because...because...she came here with me." As soon as the words are out, his face heats up. He lowers his eyes to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye he can see that all the cameras are now focused on Katniss now. Her face is beet red, her mouth hanging slightly open. After a moment, she realizes she's projected across the entire country and quickly closes her mouth and looks down, suddenly interested in her shoes.

"Oh, that's some bad luck," says Caesar, and there is a real edge of pain in his voice. The crowd is whispering amongst themselves in agreement.

"It's not good," Peeta agrees.

"Well, I don't think any of us can blame you. It'd be hard not to fall for that young lady." After a moment, he adds, "She didn't know?"

He shakes his head. "Not until now."

"Wouldn't you love to pull her back out here and a response?" Caesar asks the the pained audience. Peeta prays that he won't really bring her up on the stage. If she did come up she could ruin everything he just started. The crowd screams assent. "Sadly, rules are rules, and Katniss Everdeen's time has been spent. Well, best of luck to you, Peeta Mellark, and I think I speak for all of Panem when I say out heart go with yours." The crowd roars.

_And I thought Katniss' applause was deafening_, Peeta thinks to himself as he exits the stage.

When he looks at the tributes they are either glaring with a murderous glint in their eyes that he just stole their sponsors, or giving looks of sympathy.

He gets to his spot, trying his best not to even give a glance in Katniss' direction. No matter how curious he is about her reaction, he's doesn't look (though he's not exactly sure he wants to find out).

* * *

**Hope you liked the long chapter. I was going to have it be even longer by adding the beginning of the games, but then decided against it, SO that means that the next chapter will be the start of the games along with more Catoniss! *little fangirl* WHOOP WHOOP! It's what we've all been waiting for. Next chapter should be up soon, don't foregt to hit the blue button below that says review.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Katniss sat on the ledge of the roof, looking over at all the moving people below. Her legs are pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them and her head on top. She knows she should be sleeping since tomorrow is the games, and she'll need all the sleep she can get before the games since she doesn't know what the arena will be, but she just can't. Too many thought run through her mind. Thoughts of the her interview, Peeta's declaration, Cato proposition for her to be in the his alliance, how her family is doing, what they are doing, how Gale's doing since now he doesn't have her as a hunting partner anymore. She's basically standing in the same room as death, no way her family or Gale are going to be feeling okay, right?

The Capitolites below are partying like there's no tomorrow. And just when she thought they thought they couldn't look anymore ridiculous, they are dressed in silly costumes of many different colors and sizes to celebrate the games that start tomorrow.

She absentmindedly plays with a piece of string that has come loose on her night shirt, her mind glazed over with many confusing thoughts.

On he right she hears the door that leads back inside the building, open. She doesn't bother looking since only the residents on the twelfth floor have access to the roof. She turns her head so it's facing the opposite direction of the other person that is now here on the roof with her. She hears heavy footsteps come in her direction, each passing step louder than the last as the mystery person comes closer and closer to her spot on the roof.

"Can't sleep, firegirl?" he taunts.

Her head swivels towards him. His lips are already in its usual smirk.

_How did he get up here?_

"What do you want, Cato?"

"I need to talk to you." he says as if it was obvious.

"How did you know I was on the roof?" She raises her eyebrows.

"Well you weren't in your room, and I knew you had to be somewhere, I came across this door that said "Roof" and decided to give it a try, and here you are."

Her brow creases. "How...how did you know what room I had?"

"I just looked in all the rooms," he says with a shrug of his shoulders.

"What would have happened if you walked into a room with someone other than me in there, and was awake?"

"I don't know. That didn't happen so who cares what I would have done." She shakes her head at his carelessness.

"And what was so important that it just couldn't wait?"

He sighs. "In case you haven't noticed, the games are tomorrow."

"Thank you, Cato," her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I would never had known if you hadn't told me that just now."

"I'm glad I could be of assistance."

She scowls at him.

"I need my answer."

Her scowl deepens."I already gave you that a few days ago."

"You didn't think long enough to have made any sensible decision. You were just in shock and weren't thinking clearly. That's why I told you to think on it? And now, I've come for your finial answer, and I kind of need it now."

"The answer is still no," she says flatly.

"Why?" he asks, exasperated.

She throws her hands into the air, waving them around like an out-of-control helicopter. "What do you mean why? I gave you my answer. Do you really need a reason?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You've got skill; why are you just going waste it? Why not show the country how good you are? Show them how worthy you are of being a career."

"Why in Panem do you care if I'm in the alliance or not." she yells.

In one swift movement he has her pressed up the railing, his hands around her lower arms to keep her from escaping. He looks deep within her eyes, which are wide in shock (maybe even a little fear at that). He brings his mouth to her ear and Katniss is hit with a sense of deja vu.

"You don't always need a reason to just say yes."

She scoffs. "As if I'd say yes. What makes you think I actually want to be in a group with a bunch of sadistic human. That is if you can even call yourselfs humans."

He sighs, his warm breath tickling her ear. "There is a lot of me that you don't know about. Get over that silly image of what you and everyone else thinks every fucking career is like. You guys know nothing." He leaves before she can say anything.

* * *

She walks up to the roof again in the morning, with Cinna this time. A hovercraft appears out of thin air, and a ladder drops down. She places her hands and feet on the lower rungs and instantly it's as if she's frozen. Some sort of current glues her to the ladder while she's lifter safely inside.

Inside, while she still in her motionless state, a woman in a white coat approaches her carrying a syringe. "This is just your tracker, Katniss. The stiller you are, the more efficiently I can place this in your arm."

As soon as the tracker's in place, the ladder releases her from her statue position. The woman disappears and Cinna is retrieved from the roof. An avox boy comes in and directs them to a room where breakfast has been laid out. Though Katniss isn't in the slightest bit hungry (thanks to the anxiousness of almost being in the games), she stuffs her face with as much food as she can hold.

The ride lasts about half an hour before the windows black out, probably so that the tributes can't see the arena before they are actually in it. The hovercraft lands and they go back to the ladder, only this time it leads down into a tube that goes underground, into the room she will be staying until the games are about to begin.

She showers and Cinna does her hair in her simple trademark braid down her back. Then the clothes arrive, the same outfit for every tribute. Simple tawny pants, light green blouse, sturdy brown belt, and thin, hooded black jacket that falls to her thighs. The jacket, according to Cinna, is designed to reflect body heat. The boots, worn over skintight socks, are soft leather. They have narrow flexible rubber sole with treads. Good for running.

Cinna then pulls out her gold mockingjay pin from his pocket, fastening it to her shirt. "This is your district token, isn't it?" She nods, not trusting her voice to not crack or waver.

They sit on a lone couch that has been placed on one wall of the room. She turns down the food that Cinna has offered to get her, but accepts the glass of water. She takes small sips at a time while tracing the lump on her arm where the woman injected her tracker, despite the pain it brings.

Cinna notices her discomfort, and takes the hand that was on her arm, in his big, dark one, soothingly stroking her knuckles his his thumb. This eases Katniss' nerves some, but not really.

An annoyingly pleasant female voice announces it's time to prepare to launch.

Still clenching one of Cinna's hands, Katniss walks over to a metal plate that is located in a half tube. "I'm not allowed to bet," he says, "but if I could, my money would be on you." Katniss gives him a real smile despite where she is about to go. The last time she smiled a real smile, even a little smile, was back in her home with Prim. He leans down and kisses her on forehead.

He lets go over her hand, and a glass door goes around, closing the gap in the tube where she got in. The plate begins to rise. For maybe fifteen seconds, she's in darkness and then she can feel the metal plate pushing her out of the tube, into the open air. For a moment, she blinded by the sun. The scent of pine rushes past her nose with the strong wind.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!" Claudius Templesmith booms. A projected 60 shows up above the cornucopia, and begins to count down until they are able to leave their plates and the bloodbath begins. Spread out around the cornucopia are other supplies. Behind the tributes across for her, she can see a grain field. To her right is a lake. To her left and her back, there are piney woods, the same trees as back home.

She about to position herself so she's facing the woods, when she sees Cato across the field that separates the tributes, staring at her, the same smirk as last night on his lips. She quickly adverts her eyes and end up focusing on a silver sheath of arrows and a bow, already strung, sitting on a mound of blanket rolls. And just like that she's gets into a running position towards the cornucopia.

With about fifteen seconds left, she notices Peeta shaking his head at her, about five tributes to her right. The sun's in her eyes so she's not sure if that's what's he really doing. She squints her eyes trying to get a better look at him, but the gong rings out.

Since she was too busy trying to figure out what Peeta was doing, she didn't get off her plate fast enough, resulting in her knowing that she won't be fast enough to get to the cornucopia. She runs and picks up small things, a sheet of plastic and some bread. She sprints twenty yards to retrieve a bright orange backpack.

A boy, who she thinks is from District 9, reaches the pack at the same time as she does. They stare at each other for a moment, then he coughs, splattering her face with blood. She staggers back, and the boy falls to the ground, a knife sticking out his back. She looks up to see Clove about ten yards away, getting her next knife ready to throw in her direction. She's about to throw it at her, but then Cato comes rushing past her with a long sword that is already covered in blood, a back pack strung across his shoulder, and something else she can't see. Clove is confused as to why he is going that way, but then just figures he's going after Katniss, and throws her knife at another tribute who just happened to be in her range, neither Katniss of Clove notice the strangeness of him holding supplies with him.

Katniss stares at Cato with wide eyes before sprinting off into the woods, hoping that she's fast enough to our run him and that maybe he'll just go back to the bloodbath—though she highly doubts it. A determined expression is evident on his face as he's running after her.

She runs about fifty yards into the woods, branches and bushes scraping her skin, adrenaline running through her veins. She hears his heavy footsteps behind her. They get closet and closer no matter how fast she runs to get away. Her short legs are nothing compared to his long ones. She knows then that he's going to get her, and she can only hope that he'll make it quick. But then again, he is a career, and careers never make anyone's death quick and painless (especially since they aren't many other tributes around—in hitting range that is anyway).

Sweat starts to form on her forehead and neck, her legs beginning to feel like lead, and a crap begins to form in her side, but she tried to ignore it as best she can and pushes herself further. She hears his footsteps right behind her and she knows this is her end.

She silently prays that her family will be okay and that her mother won't shut down like when her father died.

Big, muscled arms wrap around her waist, pulling her up and over his broad shoulders. She thrashes around, kicking her legs and waving her arms, hoping that he'll drop her, but he just holds on tighter.

He runs about half a mile before dropping her to the ground. She instantly covers her face with her arms, not wanting to know when her ending blow is coming. She waits, and waits, but it doesn't come. She removes her arms slowly, peeking up at his big, tall figure. His hand is outstretched.

"Allies?"

* * *

**Not much to say here...so yeah. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'd like to here from all of you. Special thanks to all you who faithfully review each chapter, and to all who follow this and or favorited it. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"We've been over this; I'm not going t—"

"So don't"

"What?"

"So don't be in the career alliance."

She stares at him, confused. "Then what do you..." Her eyes focus on the backpack laying on the ground next to his feet. It's a bright orange one with a sleeping bag attached to the bottom of it. An object lays underneath it, though she can't tell exactly what it is. She looks back up to him, his usual smirk present (as always). Some leather is strapped around his shoulder, holding up something she also can't see on his back.

"Be my ally? Just the two of us?" He raises his eyebrows at her.

She hesitates, unsure of what she should do, Haymitch never said what she should do if this should happen. In fact, he didn't say anything about allies. Though, even if he did say something about having allies, never his wildest dreams did he probably think a career was going to drop out of his alliance to join her. "No thanks." She's skeptical about the whole thing, and it's better to be safe than sorry as the old saying goes.

"You sure." He raises his eyebrows. She's about to so answer when she sees him reach down and pick up the item under the backpack on the ground and hides it behind his back. He does it in such a way that she doesn't get a good look at it to know what it is still.

He walks over to her, then squats down in front of her—not too close; he's out of hand reach for them both. "You absolutely positive about that choice?"

She nods her head, unsure of what he's doing.

He sighs, shaking his head. He stands up and takes a step back.

"Well then, if your that positive, guess this can't change your mind either." He pulls the object he's been hiding from her, out from behind his back.

Her eyes widen.

It's a silver bow.

The only bow in the arena.

The bow she knows the game makers specifically set out for her.

She can just feel it.

Yet it's still not in her hands; it's in his. The boy right in front of her. The boy who is willing—or at least she thinks he is—to give it to her if she says yes to being his ally.

But is it really worth it?

Sure, a bow could give her a better chance at winning these games; but also, joining Cato could be what kills her in these games. She can't afford that if she's going to make it back to Prim without being in a closed wood box.

She bites her lower lip, trying to hold in her want for _her_ bow and arrows.

"You don't really think you'll bribe me into being your ally, do you?" It's a total bluff, and Cato knows it too.

"Well if you don't want it, and I can't shoot arrows that well; guess there's no use for it then." He brings up one knee, and he places his hands on either side of the bow, getting ready to break it in half.

Not being able to contain herself any longer, she jumps up and places her hands on his to stop him.

"I change my mind; I'll be your ally, please don't break this." The whole time her eyes roaming over the bow, making sure he didn't damage it in any way.

"If you want the bow, you're going to half to let go of my hands." She blushes a deep red, suddenly aware of where her hands are. She lets go and places her hands on the bow instead, keeping her head down, trying hide her blush from him and the cameras.

He lets go of the bow, and immediately she pulls the bow to her chest, hugging it tightly, afraid that he'll change his mind and take it back. Cato lets out a small chuckle at how easy it was for her to agree, and at her protectiveness of her bow.

Well then lets get going, _ally_." He takes off the sheath of arrows from around his shoulder, handing it to her. He goes over to the back pack and easily slips it onto his back, despite how heavy it is. But, then again, he's probably been training his whole life. She's sure if she trained like he did, she'd be able to carry it that easy too.

He begins to walk, but she makes no move to follow.

"Why do you trust me so much? You just basically just gave me a weapon to kill you with. A weapon that I can use at long distance"

He turns his head towards her. "You won't kill me."

"But I could."

"You could; but you won't"

"How can you be so sure?"

"If you were going to kill me, you wouldn't have told me any of that. You would have just aimed and shot me in the head." She doesn't say anything, know he's right on that one.

He walks a few more steps before she hesitantly starts to follow him deeper into the woods, her bow strung in case he's just messing with her.

They walk for about half an hour, neither one of them talking. The only sound is the slight wind that moves the leaves around, the sound of the birds, the rustling of bushes from small animals, and the sound of his footfalls on the grounds. Unlike Gale, you would hear the heavy sound of his feet and would be able to hear him coming.

"So..." she says, making Cato turn is head over his shoulder to look at her. "What exactly do we have to work with?" She point to the orange back pack.

He takes it off his shoulder and begins to unload everything inside. There is one thin black sleeping bag—unfortunately-made of the same material as her jacket, a pack of crackers, a pack of dried beef strips, a bottle of iodine, a box of wooden matches, a small coil of wire, a pair of night vision glasses—identified by Cato, and a half-gallon plastic bottle with a cap for carrying water—which, of course, doesn't have a single drop of water in it.

_Great. Just great._

"Well, it looks like our mission right now is to find water." Cato says with a sigh.

"Our mission?" She raises an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, our mission; we need to find water."

"I got that much from the empty water bottle." He rolls his eyes, then places everything back into the back pack. He slips it back onto his back, and they're on their way through the arena in search of water.

* * *

The rest of the careers, which is only four as of now since the boy from 4 was killed during the bloodbath and Cato hasn't gone back from his little hunt after firegirl, go around the field, collecting all of the supplies that wasn't taken by the survivors of the bloodbath and stacking them into piles according to whatever the item(s) is. The sun is shinning bright overhead, rays of heat beating down on the careers, forming beads of sweat on their brows.

The bloodbath is over, but the cannons for the dead haven't gone off. Though Clove doesn't know why, but she hopes it's because Cato is still in the process of killing firegirl. She saw him running after her. Firegirl was fast, but Cato's faster. Why hasn't he killed her yet? Is he making a show of her death? It should take _that_ long to kill a person. Especially a girl with a small figure like herself. Though she still kind of wonders how in Panem she got that eleven and out scored everyone in the games this year.

It hasn't crossed her mind until now, but now that she has more time to actually think other thoughts besides 'kill, kill, kill, kill,' she remembers Cato carrying supplies. It doesn't make much sense. Why would he be carrying supplies. Careers have never taken supplies until after the bloodbath and all the tributes are gone from the cornucopia. Why would he have taken supplies then? He more than anyone in the area should know that, he shouldn't have needed them. Just his sword and his determination. Did he think that he wouldn't catch her before dark.

No. He's too overconfident to even think a thing like that.

Then why?

Unless...

Out of the corner of her eye, she see movement in the trees, stopping her train of throughts. She stops what she's doing and looks over at the trees. She waits, hoping that it's Cato with a successful smile.

A boy with blonde hair and blue eyes steps out of the shadow of the trees, but not her boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. It's...

loverboy?

_What?_

_Why is he here?_

Clove pulls a knife from her belt. Holding it tight in her hand, liking the pressure of having it there. I makes her feel powerful; unbeatable.

She runs over, her eyes squinting at him. He stands there calmly, waiting patiently for her to reach him.

"What are you doing here, loverboy?" She taunts, holding he knife out so he knows she's armed.

"I want to join the alliance." he states matter-of-factly. She laugh coldly at his courage to even ask such a thing.

"Fine." she huffs after a long deep thought. She's not exactly sure what to do with him, so she just figures she'll let Cato deal with that later when he gets back from killing Katiss. "But just so you know, she isn't going to make it. Cato followed her into the woods during the bloodbath; he's going to kill her."

He face pales but he doesn't say anything, just looks down at the ground, regret crossing his face now.

She smirks at him.

Just then, eleven cannons go off. She smiles, knowing Katniss is dead and that Cato will be back soon.

* * *

Later, when the careers-plus Peeta-are getting ready to go out hunting, the anthem comes on. It shows all the tributes who have died today. The girl from 3, the boy from 4, the boy from 5, both tributes from 6 and 7, the boy form 8, both from 9, and the girl from 10.

No Katniss.

Clove drops her things in flash of rage as the anthem ends and the projection for the death recap fades out of the 'sky'.

Cato didn't kill her.

She was horribly right about her thought of what Cato had done.

He left the careers—left her—to go make an alliance with some weak District 12 wannabe. Though she desperately wants to keep denying it like she been doing the last couple of hours, she knows it's true. She can feel it.

She pulls out her knife, a scream escaping her lips. She throws her knife. It hits him in the center of his chest, pulling a big omph from him. She runs over and sits on his stomach. She pulls the knife out, slicing and stabbing him repeatedly, blood splattering everywhere, staining her hands a crimson red. A cannon goes off, telling her he's now dead, but she's not done yet. She keeps going until she out of energy. Her anger coming to a dull pain.

Peeta is dead.

And Katniss is not.

* * *

**First of all, don't hate me. You guys all knew that Peeta had to die sooner or later, and I just chose to make it sooner rather than later. Second, I did not expect that kind of a response from you guys on that last chapter. Wow. Special shout out to guest reviewer "er-bear" and Pigletma. You guys made my day(s). Thank you to everyone who review, it meant the world to me. Thanks to all. Hope you review to this too. Bye.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Wow. You guys are like on and off with when you review. Chapter 8 had so many reviews and chapter 9 only had two. Made me question whether it was good or not. Thanks to _rayleen14_ who reviews to each chapter without fail. Anyway, this chapter is basically dialogue between Cato and Katniss. Hope you like it. Sorry for the shortness. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

They are just getting ready to settle down for the night, when the anthem begins to play. It show all the tributes who are now dead. No one really surprised Katniss of their deaths except for the boy from 4. Most careers are usually in the final eight before they die, sometimes earlier, but never on the first day.

Cato sees her confused expression. "I did it. He saw me when I was getting supplies. I didn't want him to know what I was doing, plus he was trying to stop me from leaving the cornucopia, so slit his throat." She winces at how nonchalant he is about killing him. Cato sees her but says nothing.

She waits, hoping that Peeta's face is not going to show up. It's stupid, to wish such a thing. He has to die if she wants to live, and she needs to get back to her family and friends, and she just needs to forget about Peeta. He's just a distraction, she needs to let go of her need to somehow repay him for that day when she was eleven.

When the projection fades out without his face showing up, she let's out a breath she hadn't know she was holding.

Not thirty seconds later, another canon goes off. She wonders if, since it was right after the anthem, the game makers will be nice and project it once more to show who's canon that was, but they don't. Guess she'll find out tomorrow night (if her curiosity or dehydration doesn't kill her first).

Cato and Katniss searched until the sun didn't provide enough light for them to see. Sure they have a pair of night-vision glasses, but neither seemed too thrilled at the idea of having to lead or be lead by the other, so they just decided to go to sleep somewhere and search again in the morning.

"What about that tree," Katniss says, pointing her finger at a big tree with leaves that covers it's branches well, which will provide great protection during the night. It's probably the one hundredth tree she's suggested they should stay for the night.

Cato shrugs his shoulders. "I'm not going to sleep in a tree. You know that, right?"

Katniss crosses her arms in response. "Sleeping in a tree is better than sleeping on the ground and blowing our cover when someone walks past us."

"Then we'll find a place on the ground that provides some cover."

She throws her hands up in frustration. "What do you have against sleeping in trees?!"

"I'd just feel more comfortable on the ground." he says simply.

"Out in the open?"

"It's not like I couldn't take care of myself if someone did come."

"What if it's the careers? Or someone you didn't hear coming and slits your throat in your sleep?"

"Fine. If it makes you shut up; I'll sleep in the tree, okay?"

She looks at him skeptically. "Admit it; you agree with my argument."

"I said I'd do it if you shut up." She has a smug smile on her face but doesn't say anything else.

She places her hands on the lower branches and climbs up.

She's almost to the top when Cato calls up.

"You should know that I refuse to climb up that high to sleep."

"Whatever."

"That means that only one of us can have the sleeping bag."

"If you are a proper gentleman, you would send up the sleeping bag."

"I don't know, it's getting pretty cold. I'm going to need it. If you want to stay warm tonight, you'll come down here."

"I'm not going to sleep with you."

"We are in the arena; no one wants to see that."

She scoffs. "As if you'd get that lucky."

"As if you'd ever get close to doing something like that with me."

"As if I'd want to do something with you."

"I don't know, I hear I'm pretty go with my hands."

"I don't care what you do with you hands; you're not getting that close to me."

"Like I'd want you that close to me."

"Well, sleeping next to you is pretty damn close."

"I asked you so you would be able to stay warm; not so I could fuck you." She doesn't respond, nor does she come down to join him.

He gets into one of the lower branches of the tree and takes off his back pack. He spreads the sleeping bag across the branch. He crawls in and squirms around until he's in a comfortable position.

Many branches above him, Katniss sits in a small ball. Her legs are pulled as far as they can go into her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around them and her head buried in between her legs and chest, trying to stay warm. She's tempted to go down and join Cato in that soft, warm, big, comfy sleeping bag, but she's way too stubborn to admit that she's cold and wants to join him in the sleeping bag. So she stays put, shaking slightly. The temperature begins to drop rapidly after the arena goes into the deep darkness of the night.

She's about half asleep when Cato calls up quietly. "You know, you don't have to live up to your name. I mean, I get it, you're the girl of fire, but that doesn't mean you're superhuman and can keep yourself warm through this kind of weather." She could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Just how desperate are you to make me come down and get in that sleeping bag with you?"

"Apparently very desperate since I keep asking you." She rolls her eyes.

"And how do I know that you won't just kill me in my sleep?"

"Only one way to find out."

"Yes; when I'm dead."

"We're allies; I wouldn't do that."

"Uh-huh."

"Why don't you trust me."

"Because you're you."

"Well there had to be some trust if you agreed to be my ally, right?"

"You were going to break my bow." Now it's his turn to "uh-huh" her. "I need this bow; I couldn't have you breaking it now could I." She says trying to back her side of the argument up.

"And yet, you still haven't tried to kill me with the thing."

"I had other things on my mind." she says defensively.

"I was right in front of you. If you were worried about surviving you would have been thinking 'oh my god I just allied with a muscular guy who kill me with one hit of his hand and wants to kill me', then you would have shot me with an arrow and kill me, but you didn't so therefore you must trust me at least a little bit."

"I wouldn't trust you if you were the last person on earth."

"Then why haven't you killedl me yet? Like you said before, I gave you a weapon to kill me."

"Why do you keep reminding me of this? Do you want me to kill you the next chance I get?"

"No."

"Then why do you keep bringing this up?"

"I don't know." She rolls her eyes.

They go silent, with nothing but the sound of a slight wind and the sound of Katniss' teeth clacking together.

Cato calls up once more. "Would you keep it down up there; I'm sure the whole arena can hear those teeth of yours."

"I could say the same thing to you. You're the one who keeps calling up here loudly."

"I'm whispering." he snaps.

"Please, a trains whistle is quieter than you."

"Fine, I'll shut up."

"Good." she whispers back.

He's silent for a moment, and Katniss settles back into her trying-to-keep-warm position. "But seriously, you should come down. Those teeth of yours are really getting annoying."

"Go to sleep, then you won't hear anything." she growls.

"Gotta stay awake, you know. Make sure other people don't kill us in our sleep."

"You mean you. I'm up higher than you, so therefore they would get to you first, you'd die, I'd hear the cannon, I'd wake up, I'd get away. Simple as that."

"Okay, well then, let's make a compromise."

"No."

He continues on without a pause, ignoring her answer. "How about, we meet somewhere in the middle of the tree, so then we can share the sleeping bag."

"No."

"Oh, good; you're willing to compromise. Which branch do you think is good for both of us to sleep on?"

She sits up and swings her legs over the branch, scowling down at him. "Why do you want to be so close to me anyway? I'm 12 trash still."

"I don't want to be responsible for my ally's death when I could so easily prevent it."

"You didn't seem to have that big of problem when you killed the boy from 4. Technically, he was your ally too."

"_Technically_, I was already planning to not be his ally."

"But at the time he was still your ally."

"You know what? Whatever! Freeze to death. Your blood isn't going to be on my hands."

"If most definitely won't be if you just hand up the sleeping bag."

He sighs. "Okay, fine; you win. But I'm still not climbing up there. If you want it you'll have to come down and get it from me."

She stares at him, wondering what he's up to.

Cautiously, she lowers herself to the branch below her. She goes down until she's on the branch above his. He's still sitting there in the sleeping bag, staring at her with bemused eyes.

"Well...hand it over." she says, holding her hand out impatiently.

He sighs once more before getting up and getting out of the sleeping bag. He's about to roll it up for her, when he suddenly grabs her outstretched hand, pulling her down on top of him. He holds her against him, his hand over her mouth. She squirms in his arms, but he holds on tight. He then bends down and grabs his sword.

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**Please review :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Katniss struggles under his big muscular arms, trying to free her arms that are glued to her sides by one of his arms. She is able to open her mouth wide enough to clamp her teeth down hard on his hand that restrains her from yelling profanities, and any other such noises, at him. He tenses a little but then goes back to normal within a seconds notice when she does this, but makes no other acknowledgment. Not a sound escapes him, he doesn't flinch.

He leans his head down so his mouth is next to her ear, a feeling of deja vu overcoming her again—being held against her will while he whispers in her ear. This is like the...third time since she first saw him that this has happened.

"Shhhhhh. Stop moving. I'm not going to hurt you." Katniss momentarily stops moving at his statement, unlocking her teeth from his palm.

She's about to keep resisting to his hold on her, ignore everything he just told her to not do, when she hears the sound of a bunch of footsteps heading in their direction. She tenses at the thundering of steps, trying to shrink herself deeper into Cato, not even caring that he is still kind of her enemy and they he is holding her against her will. She closes her eyes, not wanting to see what happens.

Cato tightens his hold, slowly and soundlessly sliding down the trunk so they are sitting on the branch instead of standing on the branch. Her back is pressed to chest without a single sliver of space between them. The lower half of her body is tucked in-between Cato's legs, that seems to sort of wrap around her's, like he's her shell of protection. Even though he still has a tight grip on his sword that is laying across both of their feet, it doesn't seem to bother her as much. What bothers her is the thoughts of how Cato will react when the careers are near. Will he team up with them again and turn against her so she's outnumbered? Will he push her off the tree and into the hands of the careers and then laugh in her face when she asks for help?

Her stomach twists into knots and she shrinks into him, hoping that it might keep him there instead of moving, which is kind of wishful thinking to think that her little force could hold him. He releases his hand from her mouth, and she bends her head down so they are between her knees. He uses his free hand to cover her head with the hood of her black jacket, he does the same with his, laying his head sideways on the back of her neck so he can still see what's going on below.

Goosebumps form anywhere his skin is in contact with her's. She's not used to this kind of touch from a guy. Her and Gale's relationship was-is-never this physical; they touched, just not like this.

About a hundred feet away from their tree, a girl sleeps, curled up around a small fire. Small dark gray clouds of smoke flow up through the trees, which is actually quite visible in the dark. The fire lights up everything within a thirty foot radius. Small popping noises that the fire makes sound monstrous in the silence of the night.

How did he not hear that earlier?

Guess he was too busy trying to figure out a way to get Katniss to come down to his branch.

On the other side of their tree, Cato can see the silhouettes of the careers, sprinting towards the stupid, sleeping girl at the fire.

As they pass under the tree, Cato pulls Katniss closer to him, though he's not sure why; she doesn't have that much importance to him. So then why does he feel obliged to comfort her about death? There's death everywhere in this arena, this is what she signed up for when she volunteered, she's bound to have seen at some point in here, whether it's her own or not.

Katniss doesn't look at the scene, just hears the heartless laugh from the merciless careers—well mostly Clove, really-and the worthless pleas from the helpless girl who is now at their mercy. She hears her painful screams that pierce her ears with ringing sounds.

Cato watches though, but for some reason he doesn't the pleasure he thought he would feel at the sight of the girl being held underneath Clove, being cut to pieces by her lethal knifes-at the sight of being one person closer from winning and going home and finally being able to please his father. Instead, he's smirking at how angry Clove looks. She could be angry at anything, but he knows that she's thinking about him. She knows what he has done—is doing. He wants to laugh at how much this entertains him. How she actually trusts him. They might be from the same district, but that doesn't really mean anything, only one can come out of this damned place.

He watches as her energy spills out of her, how she gives up with destroying the girls face and just slits her throat.

The cannon goes off (making Katniss jump a little in his arms), and Clove stands up, smiling at her work. The girls face is now no longer recognizable.

Clove begins to leave, going towards their tree, the others following closely, angry scowls on their faces.

Katniss tenses at their approaching footsteps. Her head comes up a little and to the side to look down at them.

"That's not fair," Glimmer says in her annoyingly high voice. "You just killed someone. Why couldn't you have let someone else kill that one? Why do you get to have all the fun? I was the one who suggested that we just kill that District 12 rat, and you were to one who wanted to 'stick to what you said'. And what did you do later, oh yeah, you killed him. Wh-"

Katniss makes a little squeaking sound.

Glimmer stops making her accusation and stands there wondering if she really just heard that or if she just though she did.

Katniss and Cato quickly turn there heads down, hoping they won't be able to make-out their figures in the dark.

The careers stay quiet, waiting for something to happen.

After a while, they just decide that it was most likely a bird or something. They shift their hunting gear into better positions on themselves, then, head off in a different direction.

They stay silent for about ten more minutes, so that they are for sure that they are actually gone and out of hearing distance.

"They're gone," he says, though Katniss doesn't hear him because she is just about fully asleep. "Guess this means we're allies."

He lays his head softly on top of her's, and falls asleep almost instantaneously.

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In the morning, Katniss wakes up to find herself curled up next to Cato. Her head lays lazily on his shoulder, her hands under her head as a pillow. Her legs are sprawled across the branch, one of them on top of Cato's. His arm is wrapped loosely around her waist, the other behind his head.

She jerks up suddenly, rubbing her eyes to make sure she's not mistaken. She glares at Cato who is slowly opening his eyes.

His eyebrows knit together. "Is there something wrong?" he says quietly, his voice slurred with sleep.

She doesn't say anything.

He, then, realizes that he has his hand on her right hip. He slides it off, making Katniss shiver slightly.

He doesn't say anything, just removes himself from underneath her, trying hard not to touch her again.

Katniss sits there with her head down, her face a deep red, grateful that Cato isn't saying anything about it.

They both hope that the thick branches are enough to cover everything that went on during the night. They might have been able to pick up their conversation, which is kind of okay since they really haven't said anything embarrassing (well at least that morning, anyway).

Cato picks up their supplies, and carries his sword loosely in his hand. He uses his free hand to hook onto a lower branch and swing down, his feet landing loudly, the leaves crumpling underneath.

Katniss follows his lead by grabbing her bow (her sheath of arrows already on her back from yesterday), and landing softly, unlike Cato.

He was a few yards away, still walking, and she jogs up to him.

"Where are we going?" Katniss asks him curiously.

"If we want to live any longer in fucked up place, we're going to need water," he says simply.

She nods.

They trek on for a couple of hours, going blindly through the forest in search of some nice fresh water to pour down their parched mouths. The hot "sun" beats down on them, making them sweat whatever water they have left (which does not help their cause).

Cato walks forward confidentially, while Katniss walks a little farther back, trying to walk in a straight line. Her head is is dizzy, her stomach cramping, making her walk slower than both of them would like. It's probably from the lack of food she's been taking in. Cato took out what little food they have in their pack earlier that morning, and gave her a cracker and and half of a piece of beef jerky. She literally had to force down the half-piece of beef jerky, and she didn't even end up eating the cracker.

Katniss know from reading some of her mother's medical books that she's suffering from dehydration. She doesn't voice her revelation, but knows that Cato knows this too. He's probably suffering too, but he's better at hiding what he's feeling.

After a while, Cato gets tired of having to stop so much so that Katniss could catch up to him. He stops, let's out a sigh, and comes back to her.

"Hop on."

She looks at him bewildered. "What?!"

"Get on my back."

"Why?"

"Because you're taking too long," he tells her like she's stupid or something.

She doesn't move, so Cato leans down to grab her around her knees.

"Okay, Okay fine! Just please don't carry me like that again."

He stands back and turns around, taking off the back pack and handing it to her. She steps forward, taking the pack in her small hands and straps it on her back, then she places her hands on his broad shoulders. She jumps up. His hands circle around her thin thighs, holding her up. She wraps her arms loosely around his neck, but keeps her head up, not wanting to touch him any more than she already is.

It amazes her how much he can hold, especially with him being dehydrated as well.

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******IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!**

******Heeeeeeeeey. Sorry for the long wait on the this update. Also, sorry for the shortness of it, it's just that I'm leaving tomorrow morning to go on a two week vacation so I won't be able to update for a while, but I promise to write a little over those two weeks, and I promise to make the next Chapter.**

**Thanks to that encouraging review by ****_Love is my weapon. _**

**Sorry for any miss spellings or grammar errors, I was typing really fast to get this done. **

**Please review! :) It would make a great early-birthday present (which btw is this coming Wednesday (June 19)).**


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